


The Trickster: Coterie

by Shadow_Chaser



Series: The Trickster Universe [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe of Phase 2, BAMF!Loki, Blood Magick, Cameo by Agents of SHIELD set after Episode 1, Court Politics, Epic Bromance, Gen, Liberal use of Norse myths, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki Feels (though not exactly since he's a prickly hedgehog in this author's opinion), Loki really cares for Thor - honest, Loki's "kids" are not his "kids" - they are his coterie, Loki's past, More magick theory and magick manipulation, Not Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Compliant, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Odin's Parenting, Thor Is Not Stupid, Trickster Universe, set after Iron Man 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-01
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-19 01:58:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 99,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1451185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Chaser/pseuds/Shadow_Chaser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The myths say they were his monster children; the lore, traitors.  To Loki, they were his coterie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Summary:**

The myths said they were his monster children; the lore, traitors. To Loki, they were his coterie. Alternate Universe of Phase 2, Loki-centric, semi-team fic, no pairings.

 

**Author’s Notes:**

This story technically takes place after the events of _Iron Man 3_ , but does not include _Thor: The Dark World_. _IM3_ has a few changes, namely it incorporates the events of _Atonement_ in that the Avengers already know about Coulson’s resurrection and that by the time of this story, Tony’s gotten bored again and has rebuilt a couple of his Iron Man suits. Characters from _Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ are briefly mentioned as is Coulson’s new assignment.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 1_

 

“They’re certainly deserving of their name,” Clint Barton shouted as he downed two more black-clad soldiers with balaclavas that looked like they were rip offs from World War II. But then again, he supposed that whoever was leading HYDRA now was perhaps not quite as up to date as what was fashionable for villains and enemies of SHIELD. “Take off the head of one and two more grow in their place!” he called out again as he shot three more without looking, noting the travel path of Stark high above them as he rained repulsor blasts down along with a quinjet firing its turret gun.

“May we need covering fire to the left. They’ve broken through-“

The roar and crackle of lightning searing across the left flank rowned out whatever else Phil Coulson was about to say over the comm. to the pilot of the quinjet before Barton spotted bodies flying through the air along the left flank of the enemy lines.

“…never mind then,” Coulson finished as he fired his Destroyer-created gun, wiping out several more HYDRA soldiers.

“My question is, how the heck did they get Chitauri tech? I thought SHIELD was supposed to have gotten all of them?” Iron Man asked as he blasted several back with well-aimed repulsor blasts before landing and rolling to the side just as a Mjolnir-assisted car rolled into several more on the ground, flattening and killing the HYDRA soldiers.

“You wanna ask your buddy Rhodes? I thought he's supposed to be helping the U.S. Government keep the lid on the all alien tech that we've decided to share with them?” Barton shouted back before ducking as several blasts impacted the barrier he was hiding behind. “Shit!”

The metallic roar of the Destroyer-created gun stopped the peppering of fire as Barton peered out again and grinned his thanks to Coulson who was stationed farther back, having been the one to set up a containment perimeter and keeping civilians away from the battlefield Washington D.C. had become. Another blast of lightning followed by sounds of things being smacked into wet pulp told them that Thor was trying to keep the west side contained and Barton turned to concentrate his fire upon the east side as did Iron Man.

“The issue of illegal tech is being handled Agent Barton,” Coulson’s cool and calm voice only made an impish grin appear on Clint’s face as he fired more arrows.

“Your team apparently needs to up its publicity if Mr. Stark here is concerned,” Barton shot back, loving to rib the team of misfits that Coulson had put together to search, acquire, and stop illegal tech from harming the citizens of the world. Though he had been a little disappointed that Coulson had been reassigned by Fury to that project, he did not deny that Coulson’s skill set would be better benefited in so many ways. The Avengers themselves were only gathered together if a situation could not be contained – the rest of the team members on solo assignments in the times not gathered, or were elsewhere occupied like Stark and Banner or Thor in his case, returning to Asgard. In this case, Coulson had personally called them in before leading the op on the nest of HYDRA sitting deep underground D.C.

“Delta Team, have you found the source?” Coulson had ignored his jab as his voice called over the comm. lines to the team that had been sent underground to ex-filtrate the leader of the cell for questioning.

“Negative sir,” Captain Rogers’ voice replied quietly, almost a little too quietly for Barton to hear over the roar of gunfire and other sounds of battle above ground, but nonetheless, he adjusted his hearing mentally to hear what the team had to say.

“We are close, sir,” Agent Grant Ward, another one of Coulson’s misfit team members called over along the same tone and range as Rogers, “Agent Romanoff said the bunker was built like one of the Russian Cold War ones.”

“The Russian Embassy denies knowing anything about that,” Coulson replied and Clint snorted his disbelief, “but it’s nice to learn that they were afraid that their own country was going to nuke us and made preparations.”

“ _They were more liable to eliminate them embassy in case they turned_ ,” Natasha’s low voice rumbled over in Russian and Barton grinned as he fired several more arrows.

“What? What did she say? I don’t speak Russian-oh, thanks Jarvis-“ Stark’s tinnied voice came over before he grunted a bit and Clint looked up, firing an arrow, taking out a jetpack wielding HYDRA soldier who had surprised Stark as he dove low and swooped up again.

“A lot of them swarming down here-don't worry, Romanoff, Ward, to your left!” Rogers suddenly shouted before the tinnied sounds of gunfire and screams came over.

“Do you want me to go down there?” Barton fired off several more arrows before looking back at Coulson who shook his head.

“Negative, we don't know the situation down there,” he replied, but was keenly aware of the archer's feelings in not being able to cover Natasha Romanoff's back in the midst of a firefight. The only thing they could do was make sure that the exit was covered and that the three agents, one a supersoldier, were able to take care of themselves deep in the bowels of the underground HYDRA lair.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff twisted in the grip of a HYDRA soldier's arm and broke his elbow over her shoulder as she flipped him over at the same time. She fired underneath his tumbling body, sending another one to the ground with a bullet in his throat. Twisting, she lashed out with a foot, breaking the wrist of another one before clothes lining the soldier as he dropped to the ground hard. She knelt down and twisted his neck just so, breaking it quickly before punching another one in the sternum, hard. The soldier made a choking sound as she activated her Widow's Bite and electrocuted him.

Turning slightly, she produced two taser-discs and threw them at the incoming guards who were trying to get their guns to bear. They shook with the volts coursing through them as she ran forward and knocked both out by slamming their heads together. One of them threw up his gun and she grabbed it in mid-air before firing a spray of bullets across several others.

Her senses suddenly alerted her to something behind her and she ducked onto her knees, bending her back so that her head nearly touched the ground as she slid forward. The familiar silvery-red-white-blue shield of Captain America sailed past her head before a spray of fire from Agent Grant Ward huddling in his cover sent the three soldiers hopping into the air just as the shield hit them, killing them.

“Left!” she heard the Captain's command and rolled to her feet as she charged down a path that had been created down another corridor. She heard Ward following behind her followed by the clang of the Captain’s shield as he covered their six, his footsteps heavy in the metal-lined halls.

Drawing out both handguns, she fired as she weaved her way in and out of HYDRA soldiers who were barricaded behind barriers. She twisted and weaved through gunfire and bolts of what looked like Phase 2 weaponry, a relic of the Second World War that whoever was leading them had apparently salvaged. She heard the pings of bolts reflecting off of Captain's shield.

“I thought SHIELD got all of Phase 2 after HYDRA was defeated?” Rogers shouted behind her.

“Supposed to have,” Ward shouted back as he provided supporting fire.

“They've got Phase 2 stuff down there?!” even Coulson sounded disturbed and Natasha picked on a small clicking sound as she knew Coulson was already asking Fury about the fact that they found Tesseract-based weaponry down there.

“Did someone steal the Tesseract again Point Break?” Stark asked followed by the barest of grunts and then the squeal of the comm. as lightning momentarily zapped across the channel.

“The Allfather would never allow such a thing-”

“What about Loki?” Clint bit out over the comm.

Natasha ducked behind several crates, narrowly avoiding bolts as they gouged holes into her hiding spot. The bolts stopped hammering shortly after as Rogers' shield made a metallic whooshing sound before they impacted the soldiers firing on her position.

“My brother-”

“I think it's safe to say that Loki doesn't want Thanos out of that prison more than any of us do,” Rogers' voice cut through the comm., “Romanoff, Ward, two doors down and to the right, I think that's the main room based on the plans we've received.”

“Above?” she asked, aware that Clint was a little more than angry after being shut down so easily, but it was not her main concern at the moment.

Rogers nodded, “Hit them below.”

She leapt up and swung onto a subplatform above the hallway and hurried towards the destination that Rogers had pointed out as he ran below her, his shield deflecting most of the fire that was concentrated on him and Ward as they made their way along the ground route. Pushing the door open she immediately fired her guns, killing two more soldiers as Rogers and Ward burst into the room with a clang of shield and gunfire below her.

“Romanoff!” he shouted and she immediately fired downwards, her bullets deflecting off of the Captain's raised shield and at that angle, penetrated two heavily armed HYDRA soldiers who had been trying to charge up a minigun of sorts. The two fell to the ground dead as she scanned the cavernous room for their prey. There! She saw what had to be the leader of the HYDRA cell and ran along the catwalks.

“Got him!” she called out, “dressed in...robes, running- he sees me!”

“Don't let him escape!” Rogers called out, but she was already ahead of him as she fired haphazardly into the crowd below who had taken notice of her approach. She could see the robed figure taking one look at her before dashing away, pushing the rest of the soldiers towards her. She hurled past the gaps in the catwalk ducking and dodging bullets fired at her before the shooters were taken out by Captain America's shield and the Captain himself.

Flipping herself over another catwalk, she saw that she was not going to catch up to the fleeing leader and tapped her comm. “Rogers, he's fast, I can't catch up. I'll hold these guys off while you-”

“Negative!” Rogers barked behind her as she met him at ground level, the two of them running hard. “We both know that, that's a suicide stand. Stark, Barton, Thor, he's fleeing towards the south side, at least that's the direction we're going. Intercept him before he has a chance to disappear into the crowds!”

“Skye, see if you can hack the doors so he can’t get out-“ Coulson ordered around the same time as Rogers spoke.

“I still can’t get into the system-“

“Got it,” Barton's voice chimed over, hard and professional, “we're-”

“Grenades!” Natasha spotted the small black dots flying towards them, hurled by the robed leader as he turned and gave them a wide smile. A part of her was surprised at how _young_ he looked while the physical part of her was already reacting to the thrown grenades. She hurled herself behind Rogers as he reacted by crouching and placing his shield in front of the two of them at the same time Agent Ward stabbed a fleeing soldier and used his body for cover. The HYDRA soldiers that had been chasing after them also reacted by trying to turn around and running away before the grenades exploded.

However, it was not a wash of fire that engulfed them, but rather an acidic smoke that hissed and seemingly burned the edges of Natasha's eyes as she squeezed them shut against the sound. A gas grenade of sorts. She was about to open her mouth to tell the others over the comm.. that it was only a gas grenade when the screams started and she snapped open her eyes and stared.

A HYDRA soldier stumbled towards her making choking sounds and seemingly clawed at his mask before he managed to remove it and Natasha's eyes widened as she placed a hand over her own mouth and nose in and effort to control her breath. He was bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, any orifice. The gas...it had-

“A type of nerve gas...?” Rogers sounded confused and muffled before she met his eyes as Ward mimed the signal for a nerve grenade and the three of them scrambled to their feet, stumbling towards where they had seen gas masks along one of the edges of the cavernous room.

She could hear the pounding of her own blood in her ears as her lungs tried to breath, but kept a firm control on her instinctive muscles. Nerve gas, or whatever it was that had immediately made the others start to bleed, choke, and scream was not something her body could handle. Through the thick smoke that permeated the area, she finally saw the glint of gas masks and scrabbled to pull two of them towards her, shoving one towards Rogers and one towards Ward who took it, fumbling with the catches and belts as she didn't bother with it and shoved it towards her face-

-And started to take a deep breath of clean, filtered air...the hint of an odd metallic taste that left a bitter feeling on her tongue-

-Natasha's eyes widened of their own accord as she immediately realize that it was all a trap; everything was a trap.

“No! Stop-” she ripped off the mask, already knowing that it was too late for herself, but knowing that she had enough time to at least stop Rogers from making the same mistake as she had and batted his mask away from his hands with the rest of her strength as she felt the poisonous bitter-tasting air coursing through her body. With a seemingly heavy head and eyes, she saw the young Agent Ward also come to the same conclusion as he threw the mask down and tried not to breathe. Her arms felt cumbersome as she saw him shake his head, a denial of what was happening. Ward was a rookie in her eyes, even though his file said otherwise; it was why she had picked him to be their third team member…after all, she had personally trained him in infiltration techniques.

“P-Poisoned,” she breathed out, clamping a hand over her own mouth in a futile effort to _not_ breathe in anymore of the gaseous air and coughed.

“Natasha! Don't-” Rogers’ voice was muffled in her ears as she felt her own body collapse underneath her, barely caught by him.

She smiled as she looked up at him, noting that her eyes were blurring as she sucked in a small breath to stop the coughing, “Too late-”

“Nat, Nat?!” Clint’s voice barked distantly in her ear and she felt oddly touched by the worry she heard. There were not that many people that were concerned about her. She could feel the vicious fire burning in her veins, the leaden feeling of her body shutting down. She was aware of the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears; a rhythmic quality she thought was slowing down as she realized that Clint was still calling her name.

She wanted to respond to that voice, to tell him that everything was all right, that this was okay, but somehow, she could not make her mouth work. She thought she saw the shadow of Clint’s face in a pair of brown eyes that appeared in her vision – eyes she should have known, but then everything was shadowed after that…

* * *

As a team leader, and secretly third-in-command of SHIELD after Director Fury and Agent Hill, Agent Phil Coulson always kept his cool as best as he could under stressful circumstances. However, there was always one thing he knew that could send him over the edge – was that the impossible was not possible. There was always a way, always a solution. He rarely lost his temper, though it seemed to happen a lot more lately – but he supposed it was still him readjusting to the fact that he was clinically dead and brought back to life – but listening to Romanoff tell the others that it was a nerve gas of sorts before succumbing to it herself nearly made him lose it.

He gritted his teeth and breathed out quietly through them, “Delta Team, fallback to the waypoint. Medical evac is on their way. Stark, Thor, Agent May, light those escaping bastards up. We need to capture their leader.”

“Roger that,” May echoed as did Thor and Stark in their own way, Stark with a whoop.

“Skye, any luck?” he called out.

“Sorry, nothing-“

“Keep at it,” he knew it was somewhat of a futile effort, especially with Skye, and Fitz-Simmons working on hacking in, but if the three of them could not get in at this juncture, then they probably could not hack in for the next few minutes.

“Come on Ward, stay with me,” he heard Rogers’ muffled voice come over and wondered what the super soldier was doing, speaking when he was _not_ supposed to be breathing in the air down there. He belatedly realized that perhaps the poisonous gas had not affected the super soldier as much as it had affected Romanoff and now Ward.

“Sir, I can-“

“Negative Barton,” he shook his head at Clint’s plea who had turned back to look at him while downing several HYDRA soldiers. They were thinning out and he finally stood up from his cover, hefting the Destroyer-weapon as the last of the soldiers died or surrendered to the incoming military and police force.

“Come on,” he gestured for Barton to follow him as the archer gave him a dark look, but Coulson was having none of it. He knew Barton wanted to meet with the medical evac that was taking Romanoff, Ward, and Rogers back to the Helicarrier, but at the same time, Barton needed a reminder that he was first an Agent, no matter the circumstances and the mission needed to be completed.

They had only taken a few steps before Stark’s curse crackled across the comm. followed by May’s surprised exclamation.

“Report!” Coulson ordered, immediately stopping and staring at the distance where he had sent the three. He could see the black form of the quinjet hovering in the distance.

“The guy just…upped and disappeared! Like…”

“It was like seeing my brother cloak himself in shadow,” Thor finished for Stark, his tone a little disturbed.

“Sir, he may be an unregistered gifted we do not know about-“ Melinda May started before being cut off by Stark.

“Oh hey…he left a small sphere of sorts,” Stark suddenly commented, “Jarvis, can you isolate it-yeah, okay, thanks. I’m bringing this back with us to the Helicarrier. Fury can have a field day with it.”

“Oh yay, more toys to play with!” Simmons’ excited voice came over the comm. and Coulson shook his head a little.

“Simmons,” he warned.

“Got it, got it,” she apologized, “and I think we’re almost…yes! We got it! Skye, can you-“

“Wow…check out these encryption files! It’s like…totally a different language almost-wait, nope, just ones and zeroes…” Skye murmured over the comm.

Coulson tuned out the rest of what Skye was saying, filing it away as something to ask her about later, besides renewing the fact that she still did not follow protocol. Having her work with Fitz-Simmons was also probably to blame, but then again, if anyone had adopted Skye into the fold of his operation, it was the two inseparable eggheads.

“Sir, no other hostiles to report. D.C. SWAT, National Guard, and police force are swarming in,” May’s crisp voice reported over the comm. drowning out whatever Skye and Simmons were babbling about.

“All right May, pick the others up,” he nodded mostly to himself before pointing to Barton, “you and I are taking the medical evac shuttle back.”

“Yes sir,” he knew that Barton was too much of a professional to make a snarky comment, but nonetheless felt the heat of an ‘I told you so’ look in the archer’s eyes. He ignored it as he and Barton made their way to the medical quinjet, noting that Rogers and Ward were already sitting in the jumpseats. The good Captain had an oxygen mask over his own mouth and looked relatively okay, but Ward seemed the opposite, seemingly lethargic as medics crowded around him.

Romanoff was already lying prone on a stretcher, and Coulson frowned as he noted how translucent she looked. Her already pale features were only accented by the stark blue of her veins as a few other medical personnel swarmed her body. As he went up the ramp, he immediately stepped to the side as Barton barreled through, his gaze fixed on her before standing at the foot of the stretcher, staring down at her.

“Take off,” he called to the pilot who was peering from the cockpit and the man nodded as Coulson grabbed a handhold, the quinjet’s ramp shutting before the unsettled feeling of it rising vertically signaled that it was taking off.

“Captain?” he glanced over to his idol who, truth be told, looked like he had seen better days. Dirt, sweat, and bruises caked parts of his face and hair while his uniform was torn up in some places. There was also the telltale sign of bullets that impacted the Kevlar vest he wore with his uniform, but otherwise, Rogers seemed fine.

“She knew, right off the bat. Even faster than I picked it up, but she knew and tried to warn us at the cost of her own life-“

“She’s not dead,” Barton’s voice was tight with anger and something that Coulson did not want to identify. It was certainly not anguish or pity, but rather, something that Coulson had not heard in a very long time coming from Agent Clint Barton.

Rogers closed his mouth, nodding his affirmation, but Coulson could already read in his eyes the acceptance that another soldier, another ally and perhaps friend was about to die under his command. He was not saying the words like someone who wanted a person to be alive, but to tell someone else that she had died or will die a hero. He could only smile weakly at Rogers as the quinjet flew back towards the Helicarrier.

* * *

It was about half-hour later that Coulson found himself sitting in the main briefing room aboard the Helicarrier, his back to the bustling bridge. Agent Ward had fallen unconscious as they had landed, the medics taking him and Romanoff to the medical ward. Rogers had also been ordered there by Fury himself as a precaution and the super soldier had nodded his assent before heading over.

“Dr. Streiten says that they’re stabilized as best as he could make them considering the circumstances,” Barton announced as he walked in, hefting his bow to his other hand as he took the nearest seat to the door that would have led to the medical ward. “Captain Rogers is still being checked out.”

“Good to know,” Fury stood at the threshold in between the bridge and the briefing table, “Stark?”

“Yeah,” Coulson turned to see Stark pull out a small black spherical object holding it in between the armored joints of his fingers. His Mark Z-II Iron Man armor had a similar paint scheme as his old Mark II, but with little added copper-colored nuggets added in between. “Don’t worry folks, Jarvis says he neutralized the activating mechanism so we all don’t have to breathe in poisonous air.”

“Did he figure out what it is?” Fury asked.

“Err…no. I can run a full spectral analysis back at my R&D labs at Stark Tower in New York-“

“Fitz-Simmons can take a crack at it-“

“No, I need your team on another case. Something’s come up while you were dealing with D.C.,” Fury shook his head and Coulson felt a twinge of disappointment, but brushed it away just as quickly. He went where the mission was most important and if Fury wanted his team to investigate something else other than what was recovered at the HYDRA base then they would do so.

“No offense Coulson, but your team’s kind of SHIELD. Stark Tech is a little better-“

“Says the man who provided a lot of our tech,” Fury countered and Stark just smiled.

“Old tech. I get to invent new ones!” the man replied cheekily before sobering a little, “and I’m going to bring Banner into this.”

“You think you know where to find him-“

“He’s in Calcutta, again,” Stark shrugged as if finding Bruce Banner whom had truly fallen off the grid since the incident with Loki and Thanos, was such a hard thing. Coulson made a mental note that Stark was probably the one hiding him before the man shook his head, “no, I will not to be used as his leverage if you want him in the future-“

“I did not say-“

“No you didn’t, but you were thinking it. I know. Anyways, he’s in Calcutta so if you don’t mind I’d like to bring him on to check this little thing out. He can probably isolate the compound within and hopefully provide a cure or at least something to reverse its effects. That way Romanoff and…Ward, right? Yeah, Ward, don’t have to be like this for long.”

“We have other scientists-“

“Sure. But I’m willing to bet that Fitz-Simmons, whomever they are, are probably your best,” Stark directed a slightly toothy smile at Coulson who knew what the billionaire was playing at, “and they’re the best because why else would Coulson hand-pick them to be on his team? So since you’ve basically said that his team has another assignment, you need me more than Fitz-Simmons.”

Fury only glared with his one eye at Stark before Thor unexpectedly reached over and plucked the little spherical object out of Stark’s hands. “Hey wait-“

“This…this has…what did those who succumbed to its poison look like?” Thor abruptly asked, rolling the thing around his massive fingers.

“We do not know-“

“They fell to the ground, like they were suddenly shot with a bullet point blank range,” Rogers’ voice, a little stronger than what it had been on the quinjet, spoke up from the doorway. The soldier looked at Fury, “Sir, permission to join the briefing.”

“Granted,” Fury nodded as Rogers took the empty seat next to Coulson, “Thor, the ones at ground zero of the grenades looked like they had been shot, instantly falling to the ground dead. Those at the peripheral edges looked like they were hit by nerve gas instead. It didn’t burn, but it did hiss and sizzle, like listening to a bunch of angry rattlesnakes.”

If it was possible Thor looked even more disturbed and Coulson immediately knew that Thor had an inkling of what they were dealing with.

“They bled out and their blood looked black and was thickened, almost acidic. I don’t know what Agent Ward and Romanoff saw or felt, but I could feel the blood from the victims burning me. That’s what was burning, like the venom of snakebite or something like that.”

Thor frowned as he nodded absently before giving the small spherical object back to Stark, “Director, if you do not have need of me, I wish to return to Asgard to seek my own consultation. I believe it would benefit the situation here should my consultation prove fruitful.”

“This…consultation…wouldn’t happen to be Loki would it?” Fury was having none of the evasiveness that Thor was trying to achieve.

“Yes,” the God of Thunder replied steadily before raising his chin a little, “there is magicks within those spheres. The man of iron’s-“

“For once can you just call it the Iron Man suit?” Stark groused almost under his breath.

“-familiar, this Jarvis, says it is contained, but it is only a temporary measure. I suggest placing it in an unbreakable tightly sealed container until it could be studied further. I wish to consult with my brother about what is within those spheres. It may be the key to finding out whom HYDRA’s newest leader is and perhaps the reason why he seemed to step into the shadows like my brother.”

“You think maybe its Loki’s fault? Like he sent someone to do his dirty work again on Earth-“

“My brother would not do such a thing-“

“Regardless, permission granted Thor. Just…if it’s really one of Loki’s schemes-“ Fury waved a hand to cut Barton off from saying anything else.

“He would answer to it by my hand and by the Allfather’s,” Thor nodded once. “Thank you.”

“All right, the rest of you stand down, get yourselves checked out by Medical, yes even you Captain. I know you were cleared, but we just want to make sure it’s not a delayed reaction to the poison or whatever it is due to your super soldier status.”

Coulson stood up as the briefing ended and watched the others file out before Fury turned and picked a thumb drive that had been sitting at his station and handed to him. “Your crew has twenty-four hour leave before I need them back in the field. Agent Ward will be staying with the Helicarrier for now, but this can’t wait. I’m assigning a temporary sniper to your group until Ward is better.”

“Yes sir,” Coulson was too professional to let his disappointment at receiving a new assignment instead of pursuing the follow-up lead to the D.C. one and took the thumb drive.

“Check in with Dr. Streiten before you head out on leave,” Fury said and Coulson nodded once before he headed from the bridge to Medical. At least he could check in on Romanoff and Ward before leaving.

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 2_

 

Boredom was usually never a good thing. Being the bored Trickster God he supposed was not a good thing, but Loki was never inclined to care about that. It was merely the opinions of others foisted upon others to think that it was “not a good thing.” Certainly they would think so if they were being spelled upon, but he was inclined to think otherwise. He thought them as mere…beings to see what their limits of patience were. It was an exercise in patience, for them and for him, in a manner of speaking. And certainly explained why he had spelled a few birds to pretend they were flying in and out of the vast throne room, pretending to build nests within one particular courtier’s nest of hair.

There were times he hated being in the throne room, subjected to the whispers of the courtiers, but the whispers of his unnatural magicks and abilities were something he was used to. No, now was the added whispers of what he had done, his battle with Thanos, the seemingly endangerment of the realm and Asgard itself…his _betrayal_ even with a full public pardon from the Allfather, it was still whispered along with his parentage. Those were the whispers that Loki could not help but notice, yet at the same time he tried to dismiss them from his mind.

He could have easily declined participation in the Allfather’s audiences, but Loki wanted the others to see him, wanted them to know that he was neither cowed nor ignorant of their whispers. Let them talk all they want, he was still standing at his place next to the Allfather where as Thor’s place…was conspicuously absent. Loki would freely admit, if anyone asked, that his public appearances were twofold, one to show the realm and those under Asgard’s rule that he, the misbegotten son, was more attuned to the realm’s needs than Thor off adventuring with the mortals. But he also knew that the courtiers, would see it differently – they lived for the battles that Thor fought in, returned with the stories of conquests and foes that have been defeated.

He highly doubted that many of them realized that the mortals he fought with were also relevant to the lore spoken at feasts, but then again, the courtiers also held a low opinion of the mortals that Thor loved and fought with. Even now, with the retelling of the frenetic battle against Thanos the mortals’ efforts were barely spoken…except maybe of the green monster known as the Hulk. He was perhaps given the most credit; after all, how could no one miss the giant green monster that practically flattened everything in his path, friend or foe.

He had even heard Faendral speak of the Hulk akin to a fearsome Fire Demon of Muspelheim, except not sending wreaths of flames everywhere, but just as much as melting or mashing things in his path into wet, pulpy pieces. Loki harbored no illusions of even remotely going near the green monster that the seemingly mild-mannered Bruce Banner could turn into, but he was secretly glad that the mortal was confined to Midgard. The realm was perhaps useful enough to confine most of Thor’s activities of late, but then again, all of the other realms were still recovering from Thanos’ efforts to destabilize everything, even after so many months.

The softly cackling caw from Muugin perched on the Allfather’s shoulder made him shoot a glance towards the raven to see it ruffle a feather or two before seemingly look at him with a twinkle in its deep black eyes. He frowned a little as he turned back and saw that one of his birds had turned green…nearly the same green color as the Hulk itself and immediately corrected the spell. Shooting another quick look at the raven, he could have sworn it shrugged before preening itself. Muugin’s brother familiar, Huugin was perched on top of Gungir and Loki noted with some amusement that Huugin was most definitely asleep, beak hidden inside a wing, eyes sleepily closed.

Another soft squawk from Muugin made his brother raven open one eye to look about before nestling back into its wing. So even the ravens were bored, he thought as he shifted his feet discreetly to relieve the pain of standing in one position for a long time. The courtiers themselves were all seemingly listening in rapt attention to the audience happening at the moment, but he could tell that some of them were getting tired by this long audience. However, none dared to voice their complaint. This audience was a matter of import – the ambassador for the Frost Giants, representing King Helblindi himself was finalizing a treaty that would finally end the uneasy truce between Asgard and Jotunheim and mark the first step in a real peace between the realms.

That was the other reason why Loki had to be at this particular audience – Odin Allfather had specifically requested his presence to oversee the so-called “fruits” of his labor and the restoration of the Casket of Ancient Winters to Jotunheim itself. He had not been to the icy realm since his audience with the young King, his younger brother if one was inclined to look at familial aspects, but the Allfather wanted him to see the results.

He sighed quietly and thought about adding another bird to the spell he was weaving, maybe this one in the colors of red and black to add to the green-colored Hulk one and the blue-white Captain America one, to portray Natasha Romanoff. However, Huugin sudden loud caw as he awoke broke through his thoughts. The raven spread its wings and flew off with a distinctive almost-gleeful cackle. Some of the courtiers’ reacted by watching it fly out, but many pretended not to notice the raven, and instead kept their attention on the proceedings just as Odin had.

The courtiers themselves were used to the comings and goings of the ravens, enough that they also knew it perhaps spotted food elsewhere or was on another information gathering mission for the Allfather. Loki knew that the courtiers suspected Huugin had gone to consult with the all-seeing eye of Heimdall, perhaps thinking that was where the Allfather received many of his secrets, but all were too polite to ask about it.

Seeing that Huugin was gone, Loki looked to add to his spell once more when the subtlest of shifts from the Allfather sitting upon his throne made him quickly erase the spell instead; the quiet chirping of birds disappearing and leaving a near-silence in its wake. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Odin incline his head once before rising up from his seat. There was the briefest of shifting of feet everywhere as all knew that the treaty was almost complete which only made Loki snort silently at the sudden wash of silent relief that emanated from the courtiers.

“Lord Ambassador Ymir,” the Allfather addressed in wake of the silence of Ymir’s _very_ long monologue, “the openness of dialogue and words garnered in these past weeks have allowed a new chapter of peace and prosperity to open between Asgard and Jotunheim once more. We thank you for your words and also the words of your King. The feasting halls will tell of tales for generations to come where war once was, but is no more.”

“So it shall be, Odin Allfather. There is one more gift we wish to present,” Ymir bowed low and Odin tilted his head, but nodded.

“You may present it,” he said and Loki wondered what it was.

He had no doubt that it was not a weapon of sorts, Ymir had plenty of time to betray the trust and foundations that had been built over the past several weeks since talks had begun, but at the same time, the presentation of gifts had already been done in the midst of the talks. Here, at the very end of the talks and treaty between the two worlds, it was highly unusual. Still he made no move to summon his magicks or even prepare for an attack, noting that the Allfather was utterly relaxed in his composure. But then again, he was holding Gungir…

The ambassador drew out a geometric looking object, but did not hold it up to the Allfather in his large hands; instead, Loki noted with some surprise that Ymir was holding the object up to _him._ “In this, contains the proof of life that has flourished with the return of the Casket to our realm.” There was a gleam that Loki could not quite identify in the ambassador’s eyes, almost like mirth, “The King wished me to present this to the one who had graciously returned the Casket to our rightful place.”

Loki blinked as the throne room burst into quiet murmurs and whispers. He could feel the eyes of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif upon him and knew exactly what those gazes said. That they were a bit surprised at the white-washing of the truth, of what had really happened on the Bifrost during the battle with Thanos. He had not given the Casket as readily as it had been picked off of his briefly-dead hands.

But Loki was not a trickster nor liesmith for nothing as he put on a grateful smile and reached out to accept the gift, encapsulating it with a spell to lift it to his own hands. His smile turned into a slight smirk at the grumbles of his blatant display of magicks. Examining it quickly, he brushed a spell over it and was mildly amused to find that that whatever was inside, was protected by the geometric container, or rather, a modular spell like the ones he built during times of idleness. This was going to be fun, trying to take apart what was clearly Helblindi’s own magicks.

“I thank the King for his generous gift,” he acknowledged Ymir with the briefest of nods as he stored it in the space in between to unravel it later. He noted with a slight disdain mingled with mirthless amusement that many of the courtiers looked shocked at his gratitude towards a gift, even from a Frost Giant. However from his vantage point, Sif was frowning, not at him, but at the courtiers and their reaction. Let her think that he was actually grateful, the courtiers thought otherwise and it only served to further manipulate the feelings of the Court itself.

“And so concludes this treaty between the realms,” Odin declared, thumping Gungir on the ground. A second later, the polite applause sounded in the Court as the Ambassador bowed his head before making his way back into the edges of where other foreign dignitaries had come to witness the event.

Loki was sure there were other trade agreements between the newly restored Jotunheim and the rest of the Nine Realms to be discussed, but as the Allfather looked out towards the Court to dismiss them, the sharp caw of Huugin made everyone turn to see the raven flying low, swoop through the Court before landing next to his brother familiar Muugin. There was a sharp poke from Muugin’s beak into Huugin’s feathers before the other raven responded with another soft caw.

It was then that the crowd parted and Loki felt a flash of irritation crawl through him at the sight of Thor, standing at the edge of the throne room. His cape was torn in several places; armor scuffled and dried blood caked parts of his face, matting his blond-hair to the side. It was clear Thor had only come from a battle and Loki knew that the very image Thor presented was one that the Court would respond favorably to. Here was the favored son, home from what was certainly a fierce battle, perhaps scarred, with new tales to tell at tonight’s feast for the realized treaty…

And everything Loki had done to make sure his presence was acknowledged since Thor had not been at any of the negotiations or audiences, was all for naught. All because Thor had to show up just now-

“I intend no disrespect Allfather, but I return with urgent news,” Thor said as he walked towards the dais and stopped before kneeling on one knee to the Allfather, head bowed. Loki pursed his lips as he heard the whispers start up once more as the courtiers got a closer look at Thor.

Even though there were several steps between him and Thor, he could smell the hint of ozone wafting around his brother, and upon closer inspection, noted that there was far more blood caked across his armor, hair, and skin. Mjolnir which hung by his side had not escaped unscathed, coated in dried brown-red blood.

“Speak then, Thor,” Odin intoned quietly, and Loki risked a quick look at the Allfather to see that a mask of impassivity had fallen across his face. It was the same mask that no matter what happened, he could not read.

“It is news that would diminish the occasion of joy of your most recent peace treaty, Allfather,” Thor said haltingly and Loki saw Odin’s eyes narrow a little as a wash of renewed whispers spread throughout the Court. Even Ambassador Ymir looked a little suspicious by his declaration. More often than not, when a warrior walked into and interrupted an audience that was going on in the throne room, the news that was declared was usually for a battle or for some skirmish that the Courts always responded to favorably. Reports from spies came from Huugin, Muugin, or were given to the Allfather himself through Heimdall or even through a spectral familiar from one of the battlemages. What Thor was doing…

Loki had to snort quietly at how _underhanded_ his brother was being. But at the same time, he knew that Thor would have never boldly walked in if it was just a spy report. No, Thor was Crown Prince, the beloved son, the future _king_ of Asgard so to boldly walk in and suddenly say that he needed a private audience. He did not know quite what to think, but then again, did not have to say anything as Odin stood up and inclined his head once towards the Jotun ambassador.

“As I had said, this concludes the treaty between our realms, Ambassador. We shall have a feast later tonight in your honor and those of the Jotuns. I ask your forgiveness for this early retirement,” the Allfather said and Loki could see that the metaphoric gears in Ymir’s head were turning at the play of words spoken by Odin. By asking the Ambassador for forgiveness, Odin had cleverly wedged Ymir into a tight spot – he could not say he did not forgive the Allfather for the early ending of the audience without insulting his host for the resulting feast later tonight. At the same time, it was also a clear dismissal for the rest of the Court.

Ymir smiled placidly before inclining his head in the same fashion, “Of course, Allfather. I must contact our King with news of this success. As you are such a gracious host, perhaps I may make the suggestion of inviting the King himself? It would be more for his honor as I am just his humble servant.”

Loki immediately saw through the web of words between Odin and Ymir and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His oafish, stupid brother did not realize what he had just unleashed by barging in with his so-called _urgent_ news and with his attempts to bandy words to get a private audience had all but announced that there was something _secret_ going on. Ymir had cleverly countered by asking for Helblindi himself to arrive only because if it had been just Ymir, the Allfather may have detained him for a few days afterwards on the pretense of going over the finalized trivial details of the treaty. But by having Helblindi there, the Allfather could not detain him if he wanted to. He could still detain Ymir, but with a second pair of ears at the table, which Loki knew someone was bound to ask about Thor’s very recent battle, whatever “secret” Thor wanted to talk to Odin in private would have to be carefully edited. And knowing Thor, he could not even tell a lie even if he wanted to.

His brother made his life even harder and more annoying with his sudden appearance. And Loki knew he would have his work cut out for him to deflect and or preserve whatever secrets were to be spoken between Odin and Thor. He knew that he did not have to do it, but at the same time, a sense of self-preservation and chance to prove that his brother was most definitely not ready for the throne was too tempting for him – especially showing him up in front of the Allfather himself.

“Then we shall expect the young King at his rightful place of honor,” Odin said and Ymir bowed once before getting up and leaving. The rest of the courtiers knew that the audience was at an end as they too, slowly left. Many of the courtiers would not hear of the tale that Thor was bound to be asked about during the feast tonight, but there would be rumors nonetheless.

As the last courtier turned to leave, Loki allowed himself to relax and shook his head at his brother who stared at him in surprise. “You are a fool,” he growled out as he made his way down the throne room steps, Sif and the other Warriors already heading to the door that would lead them to the training grounds. He himself was headed to the library; hoping to maybe read off a headache that was forming and think of ways he could at least deflect the inevitable questioning that was to happen at tonight’s feast.

“Loki, I…” Thor suddenly looked torn and Loki huffed an annoyed sigh as he glanced at his brother, “I would like you to stay.”

His annoyance was replaced by shock as he blinked, taken aback at the request. A the momentary burst of fear that ran through him. A private audience with the Allfather was that, a private audience. Neither one of them had _ever_ asked the other to stay since they were young boys being punished. Loki knew as well as Thor knew that there were times where matters of the realm and beyond were spoken to one another now that Thor was Crown Prince and he just…a Prince.

Even with Thanos imprisoned, the Allfather had yet to declare what his role was within the royal household, nor what was he to do in the immediate future. He was certainly not the Allfather’s advisor nor was he the chief negotiator or a diplomat. He was not a battlemage or even a healer and instead had been left to his own devices. Loki had known what he was before the whole fiasco with Jotunheim, he was Thor’s shadow, the once possibility of being King there, but now…

The sound of the doors closing told him that the Warriors had left, leaving him the only one who had been originally part of the Court now standing there, still staring at Thor. He could ignore it, leave as he knew it was his right to do, but at the same time he also knew that the knowledge gained would perhaps help him tonight. He turned and stood plainly facing Thor, diagonally from the Allfather still sitting upon his throne and saw the slight warmth of affection appear in Thor’s eyes.

Only Thor would still think of his gesture to stay as something brotherly. They were not- he cut the thought off irritably. The oaf would still not get it, even if he was able to pick up Mjolnir and hammer it into his face.

“Speak plainly Thor,” the Allfather’s tone was neutral, but Loki caught the hint of a severe disappointment in them. Even the Allfather knew what a mess tonight’s feast was going to be because of Thor’s actions and for that Loki felt a little grateful that at least he was not the only one who was irritated at the blond-haired idiot.

“The Avengers discovered that HYDRA’s newest leader is but a mere child,” Thor started, “whom Iron Man, Agent May, and I saw disappear with seemingly a twist of magic, much like how you walk the shadows, my brother.”

Loki shrugged, “The mortals are persistent enough to try to break the laws of their technology against magicks they do not yet understand. I am not surprised if one or two have designed spells to enable such a thing.”

Thor nodded, seemingly appeased before looking back up at the Allfather, “Before leaving, their leader dropped small marbles of a gaseous nature. It was poison that has affected many of the mortal agents of SHIELD including the warrior Natasha Romanoff and Captain Steven Rogers.”

That was not surprising to Loki, and he wondered if Thor had said their names to deliberately make him feel some sort of responsibility or guilt towards the Avengers, especially the two that seemed most neutral, aside from Dr. Banner, towards him the last time he was there. If that was the intention, then Loki felt nothing. Romanoff and Rogers were soldiers and warriors first and foremost and they knew when to give up their lives for whatever cause they believed in.

“The poison itself was corrosive in nature, destroying the insides of a mortal’s body if inhaled directly. However, it has not affected the physical area and…it was bound by magicks that I have felt before.”

That statement got Loki’s attention as he whipped his head around to stare at Thor. Even the Allfather looked interested as he leaned forward a little on his throne. Thor was someone who was rarely affected by magicks of any nature, trusting Mjolnir to protect him as well as his natural warrior-enhanced senses to avoid any magicks of any type. Loki remembered training with Thor and occasionally scoring him with his own magicks if only to help him learn to avoid all sorts of spells and whatnot thrown upon a battlefield should the need arise. But there had been one time when Thor was affected by magicks…and it made Loki uneasy.

The uneasiness turned quickly into dread as he contemplated Thor’s words. Corrosive poison specifically designed to be inhaled and only then would it release the toxin within a person, making them hemorrhage blood, putrefy and dissolve their innards. It was controlled by magicks and a mere _child_ , the leader of HYDRA was seen fleeing the scene.

“Allfather, I believe that Jormungandr has escaped his prison and is HYDRA’s newest leader,” Thor said quietly avoiding Loki’s sharp look.

* * *

Thor kept his gaze firm on the Allfather as he heard his brother start and draw in a sharp breath. Contrary to what he knew his brother thought of him, he could tell that the news affected him more than he was willing to show. But it was also news that he knew the Allfather had to know and hoped that by having Loki at the audience, he would at least have some of his feelings spared. He had not wanted to pin the blame on Jormungandr, but there was no denying the magicks he felt in the brief moment he held the small unopened poison gas marble before the man of iron had taken it back.

“Loki, I-“

“Spare me your feelings, Thor,” Loki hissed out quietly as out of the corner of his eye he saw his brother try to regain his composure. Thor knew the history between Jormungandr and his brother, but also knew that whatever knowledge he had of the history between the two, there was a far deeper history that Loki had carefully never revealed, not even to the Allfather.

The real question was who freed Jormungandr. Thor did not want to believe that Loki had a hand in it, but then again, Jormungandr had been part of his brother’s coterie, and a very powerful coterie at that. The intricacies of magicks had long eluded Thor, but it also meant that he did not pretend that it did not exist. He just had a habit of separating it, even though a part of him knew that his father used magic too. Loki was just…Loki. And he had to admit, it was during that time of Loki’s coterie that Thor had felt the pangs of jealousy of a group of people that was able to love his brother seemingly even more than he loved him himself.

It still did not mean that he had forgiven the coterie for their traitorous actions, no, that was certainly the prevailing sentiment amongst all Asgardians and through the Nine Realms themselves. But he also knew that his brother harbored some lingering regrets and feelings for the group of beings that were almost like him.

Still, his brother needed to hear this, “Loki, I would not have spoken his name if I was not sure.”

“I don’t _care_ ,” Loki seethed, glaring at him, but Thor would not back down. His brother _needed_ to know that he had his support, no matter what. He would never abandon him, even after everything.

“Loki-“

Huugin’s caw startled the two of them as they looked up to see the Allfather speaking to his raven before it flew off, headed towards Heimdall’s Observatory. “Heimdall shall confirm the escape of Jormungandr,” Odin said, but before Thor could say anything, Loki suddenly turned and in a very uncharacteristic move, dropped to one knee.

“Allfather, permit me to go to Midgard to ascertain the truth to this matter. If indeed Jormungandr has escaped, I may be able to draw him out,” his brother said in the most neutral and quiet voice ever. Thor was surprised at the sudden humility and humbleness that was displayed – Loki _never_ asked permission, he just did what he wanted, consequences be dammed.

And he realized that his brother must have been severely affected by the possible news that Jormungandr could be loose somewhere on Midgard. Thor wanted to reach out and tell Loki that everything was going to be fine, but he also knew that his brother was in such a frenzied state that he would accept nothing.

“What would you request in turn for this?” Odin tilted his head a little, his one-eyed gaze sharp.

“That the others come to no harm,” Loki quickly replied and Thor drew in a quick breath at the implications of that statement.

He did not want to believe…but if it was true… No…it could not be. Loki would never do such a thing.

“Oh how little you know of me, brother,” he heard Loki whisper softly, his tone amusing yet at the same time saddened. Thor realized that he had spoken his last thought out loud.

“The others will come to no harm so long as their prison holds,” Odin countered, “I will however, send the Warriors Three and Lady Sif to ascertain the nature of their confinement That is how much time you will have.”

“I understand,” Loki looked up and Thor saw a grim determination in his eyes, not unlike when he was facing down Thanos so long ago, but at the same time, he could not help but wonder what it was for. The coterie and their bonds to one another were powerful, but Thor knew that no one held sway over his brother.

“I shall send for them after the feast,” Odin continued and Thor grimaced at the same time he saw the same expression flit across his brother’s face. So they would not leave immediately and instead stay for the feast.

He was never good with wordplay, especially within the Court and knew that he had bungled his attempt for a private audience by trying to make it seem like his news should not have diminished the conclusion of the Jotun-Asgard negotiations. He had been aware of Loki’s involvement in them, his daily appearances in Court and in the negotiation rooms, helping draft the treatise with his brilliant ability as a wordsmith.

And he had seen the withering look Loki had sent him for his attempt to try to mitigate his own problems since his arrival from Midgard. In hindsight, perhaps he should have just waited until the Allfather had finished with his Court, but at the same time, the urgency of the possibility of Jormungandr’s escape was very important.

“I…I will try to be more discreet in the future,” Thor knew there was nothing else he could have said and at best it was a very poor apology for what was going to happen tonight. He knew there was the potential of mitigating the story so that the Jotuns would not pry into matters, but it would be futile. Helblindi was Loki’s true brother and Thor had seen the exact same calculating eyes on the King of Jotunheim as he had on his own brother. If he did not tell the full story, Helblindi would be sure to pick it out from him…

“Then I suggest the two of you prepare for the feast,” Odin dismissed them and Thor bowed his head once before standing up and heading out of the throne room.

He heard Loki’s footsteps behind him and as the door closed behind them he turned and opened his mouth, but Loki beat him to the punch.

“Spare me your sentiments, Thor,” his brother glared at him, “I do not wish for it.”

Thor closed his mouth and watched as Loki turned abruptly on his heel and quickly headed towards the hall that led to the library. He watched his brother until he disappeared around a corner and shook his head sadly. At least Loki had only said that much – he knew Loki could have said a lot more, but was probably distracted by the news of Jormungandr’s possible escape. Sighing, Thor headed towards his own quarters, intent on a long bath to wash the stink of mortal blood and sweat off of his body and armor.

* * *

Loki closed the tome he was reading with a quiet thump that echoed off the shelves in the library. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ran his fingers up and down in an effort to relieve the tension that was there. This was not a problem he needed now…not with the feasting tonight. The Allfather and Thor had all but guaranteed that he was not going to be on his top form tonight verbally sparring with Helblindi and he hated it.

But still, Jormungandr, escaped; or at least possibly escaped from his prison and bonds.

It would take Heimdall a few days to scour the whole of Midgard itself, down to the deepest core and every inch of its surface before he could ascertain if Jormungandr had truly escaped. The form he had been forced into was also a clever one, able to blend in with his surroundings. The only thing that would have given Jormungandr away in his imprisoned form were two twin specks that lit up like little stars. Stars that said mine, mine, mine…

He wondered if _she_ had cut his bonds. It would not be the first time she had done something similar to test him even though he was her best student. He would not have called her cruel, but she was not known for her kindness either. She was however, a very effective teacher and more than any of the other battlemages in existence. He knew he could easily consult her, his connection to her renewed since his brush with death thanks to Thanos’ dagger. Before then, he had severed all ties since his coterie was scattered.

But to contact her now, it would only invite a chance for her daughter to free herself from her own imprisonment and Loki....did not want anything to do with _her_. He knew the Allfather had his suspicions, but even he with his magicks knew that the better part of valor was discretion. In this case, the magicks that he studied versus the ones the Allfather studied were best left alone.

He flicked an idle finger and conjured a tiny ghost-like bligesnipe as it wandered the tabletop of where he sat, snuffling as it pretended to search for another bligesnipe to battle against. Adding some detail to its form, he conjured a second one before sending the two off to do battle with each other, trying to distract himself. The battle was soon over as his first bligesnipe conquered his second one and Loki growled under his breath as he released the spell.

It was no use…everything he did made his thoughts go back to what Thor had declared. Jormungandr, the coterie…the others…

“I have just opened up a path for my Queen,” Frigga’s voice startled him out of his thoughts as she suddenly placed a chess board in front of him, a white pawn clearly moving two spaces up opposite of his black side, “your turn.”

He moved his Queen’s knight before realizing that it was not the one he wanted to move, but it was too late to take the move back as his fingers had already lifted off the piece itself. Looking up, he saw his mother rounding the edge of the table to sit across from him, staring down at the board and made her second move.

“Your father told me what happened,” she started conversationally before shaking her head at his frown, “you need not tell me, I know you well, my son. I merely wish to challenge you at the moment. The feast is not yet prepared and you have only recently finished another tessellation in your room.”

“I could start another one,” he countered, wondering what she was getting at. As much as he appreciated that she was playing chess with him, he still did not feel too comfortable around her. Guilt at what he had done was primarily his concern and he remembered waking up in the healing hall after his battle with Thanos once to see her tear streaked face and her whispered promise to never die as she could not stand to bury a son.

“You may,” she replied serenely, “yet I find you here in the library.”

“I am reading to figure out how to solve the problem Thor created,” he made his second move, knowing he could still win even with his first bad move.

“Loki, your words do not need to be read in a book. You are far too clever for that,” she smiled a little, “come now, play the game for what it is.”

“I am not a child-“

“You are still my child,” she blinked once before he huffed a sigh and focused on her third move. “But as a parent I still have a lot to learn. I wish to learn how to defeat my husband in chess at least once.”

Loki looked up in surprise as she made her third move. He had not known that the Allfather played the game, having seen him sitting upon the throne, inspecting the warriors, doing everything that was not considered leisure. But he realized that the Allfather was seemingly a chessmaster himself, always creating options, leaving positions open, sacrificing pieces of the sort. Everything he did was for a purpose, much like the game he was playing at the moment.

“He will not be an easy opponent,” he murmured quietly as he made his move to which she countered and he made another quick move, taking one of her pieces.

“And neither you,” she arched an eyebrow at the loss of her piece and his lips twisted a little in a small smile.

“There are different methods of play, mother,” he watched as she stared at the board for a moment before cautiously making another move to which he countered. She frowned again before making another one and he took another one of her pieces.

“Strike fast?” she took one of his pieces, but he did not care for the pawn. It was inconsequential.

“Or strike slowly. Or perhaps use both, a combination of various methods,” he made his move, setting up his Queen, “check.”

She frowned and Loki looked up to see her staring at the board, her brow furrowed in thought before she cautiously made her move. He smiled a little, “That was the right one.”

“Or perhaps the one you wish me to think was the right one,” she met his gaze with a slightly amused smile of her own and Loki nearly laughed. He reached over and pointed to one of her pieces, “If you had moved this one, then in three moves, it would have been checkmate. If this one, then two moves…” He continued to explain the methods to her as she nodded.

At least two hours later, she finally sat back, their fifth match all but done and she smiled at him. “Thank you, my son, for this very educational experience.”

“Your distraction was a mild success,” Loki tilted his head as she nodded and collected the pieces and board. It was true, he barely thought of what was happening until she had spoken.

“Loki, we will find Jormungandr,” she stood up and looked to leave, but leaned down and reached out to grasp his hand, “we will find him.”

“I have no doubt of that,” he replied as she left the library. The question was, if Jormungandr had escaped and he was found, what would he do then?

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

Just what a coterie is will be explained in the story. It is an actual word that exists…and for those who have read Robin Hobb’s books, I’ve based Loki’s coterie upon the coterie of those books.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 3_

 

Night, for all intents and purposes, had fallen, but night on Asgard was not like night on Jotunheim or even Midgard for that matter. Loki looked out of the entrance of the Observatory as he waited for Heimdall to relay his instructions to Huugin who was to fly back to make his next report to the Allfather. He made it a point not to stare anywhere near the bridge itself or anything remotely towards the drop that ended in nothingness. Even with the Observatory and Bifrost repaired, Loki still felt the thrill of fear grow within him this close to the blackness-

He mentally shook himself from the thought as his gaze traveled to the golden spires of the palace. The nightfall on Asgard glittered upon the reflection of the spires, brightening the starry sky with even more stars. Nebulae and galaxies of beyond brightened in the night skies of Asgard as did the oort cloud that encircled the artificial asteroid that the Asgardians of old had made into their home and center of the realms. It was truly a beautiful sight, something he had kept to himself during the period of blackness within Thanos-

He bit his lip as he pulled his thoughts away from Thanos and what had happened. Everything now reminded him of what he had nearly lost; what he had pulled tight to himself to keep Thanos from utterly dominating his mind. It was a problem that still needed to be rectified, but it was something that he would deal with later. The trip to Midgard once more was his first and foremost concern.

But that was not to say that the feast had been interesting to say the least. It had been the first time Helblindi had come to Asgard after the battle against Thanos had been decided; tensions still heavy between the Jotuns and Asgardians – even in wake of the new peace treaty. For one thing, Loki knew that it was the perception of the Jotuns causing a lot of the tension – dressed in the simple cloths of the people that they deemed nobility, it was seemingly beneath the class and finery the Court wore. It was also the fact that the Jotuns towered over every single Asgardian with their dominating alien blue skin and blood-red eyes.

_Monsters_ , many of the Court had whispered and Loki had ignored them. It was an epitath that he had heard many times and also had applied to himself, no matter how much it hurt him. Words like that did not hurt him, words the Court and popular opinion bandied around. He did not need approval from anyone and certainly not of the Court. But at the same time, he also understood the importance of such words, especially in wake of the peace treaty. While he himself was able to manipulate words so easily, others were too dimwitted to realize what was at stake.

Surprisingly it was the young King himself who had quelled the nearly-disastrous words whispered amongst the Court with words of his own. They were far kinder and more diplomatic than what he would have said if he had been in Helblindi’s position, but Loki was a little disturbed at how _close_ the words were to his own. It really proved that Helblindi was his blood relation and he had been uncomforted by that fact. Even Thor had looked surprised at the words, but then again, his brother always wore his expressions on the sleeve of his armor.

The feast itself had then been a minefield of carefully dodged questions and deflections that Loki had come away with mostly satisfied with Ymir’s persistence. Clearly, Ymir was at least Helblindi’s protégé in terms of bandying of words, but the young King also knew his place during the feast and left the questioning of today’s events at Court to his advisor and ambassador. There had been a slight misstep on Thor’s part that Loki had frustratingly covered for his brother. He thought of abandoning Thor to Ymir and Helblindi’s metaphoric wolves, but it would have undone what he had been carefully doing all night. It also would have told them secrets he did not want them finding out; especially with the possibility of Jormungandr loose upon Midgard.

The delighted cackle from Huugin broke into his thoughts as he turned to see the raven now perched on Thor’s shoulder. The source of the cackle was a shelled nut provided by Thor to the raven who then proceeded to crack it open on one of Thor’s shoulder plates before devouring the soft insides. It gave another caw of delight before seemingly puffing up in annoyance at Thor’s whispered words as he handed over another shelled nut. Huugin hopped a bit on Thor’s shoulder before flying away, passing by Loki who watched him until he could not see the black speck against the golden spires of the palace.

“Huugin seems to favor me, but I told him to at least share with his fellow familiar brother the fruits of his labor,” Thor said by way of explanation as Loki turned back around to see Heimdall moving to insert his keyblade into the activation port of the Bifrost.

He threw his brother a withering look. Who asked him to explain his actions? However, he noted to some degree of annoyance that Thor ignored his look and instead waited patiently at the site where the power of the Bifrost would transport them to Midgard.

“I have searched the seas, my Prince, but I did not see the Midgard serpent even with his mass. I will search the lands for his camouflage, but if someone has freed him, he has either shrunken in size or has taken on human form that I am not familiar with,” Hemidall said, making his address more to Thor than to Loki. Loki bit back a smirk even though his lips twitched in amusement. Since his return, he had made it a point not to even go near the Observatory and Heimdall made it a point not to do anything with him, even after all of the recent events with walking the shadows and Heimdall being blind to Thanos’ cloaking spells.

“Thank you Heimdall. We will hope to have answers soon,” Thor said after half a second of awkward pause occurred since Loki was not going to acknowledge what he had said.

“Where would you like me to transport you to?” Heimdall asked, his golden eyes boring into Thor.

“The man of iron’s tower in New York City if you please. I believe that was where he said he would be able to use his technology to create a cure,” Thor said and Loki blinked a little. He was surprised that such a place would be chosen, but supposed it was as good of a time as any to truly test out the geas-contract he had made with Director Fury if he so stepped out into the public. He would even be inclined to wear his helm-

“Loki, I ask that you do not test out the geas-contract you had made with the Director while we are there,” Thor turned to him and Loki stared at him in surprise before his brother nodded, his smile a little earnest, “I too have been learning and changing my ways. I cherish the things I care about more and thus have learned to not take many of them for granted.”

For a second Loki was taken aback at the sheer sentimentality and the love behind those words before he shook his head, “It is a bigger weakness to exploit by your enemies.”

“Yes, but it is one I will gladly bear the burden of,” Thor tilted his head and for a moment Loki did not see Odin that he had seen so much in Thor, but rather Queen Frigga and huffed a sigh before turning away.

“Again, I remind you my Princes, that the Bifrost will not open for you so long as you are in open combat,” Heimdall intoned as the Bifrost began to build its charge up. “The enemies of the realm will not gain a foothold here,” he continued, the whine buzzing the edges of Loki’s teeth as he felt it’s hair-raising magical energies flit across the surface of his exposed skin. It was a heady feeling, though he supposed that Thor, having no ounce of magicks within him, could not quite feel it as much as he felt it. At the same time, it also triggered the danger sense within him, that he needed to run far away from the power of the Bifrost, from the power of the Tesseract.

Just when he could not take it anymore, he felt himself being horribly compressed, struggling to breathe-

Only to find the wind now whipping his hair into his face as he and Thor landed on the open patio of the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Being transported by the Bifrost was unlike walking the shadows of Yggdrasil, but there were times when both were eerily similar. This was like one of them, except without the _voices_ to whisper to him his innermost thoughts, it was the horrible physical feeling of magicks that had pulled and clawed at him.

“Hey Point Break-whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is _he_ doing here?!” Stark had walked out of spacious living quarters; Loki supposed it could be called that, his smile turning into a frown as he pointed a finger at him.

Loki allowed a smirk to form on his lips and mockingly bowed to Stark, “I never did get to have that drink now did I?”

“Uh, yeah no, but still, Thor, what is he doing here?” Stark glared at him and turned to Thor.

“My brother has offered his assistance in this problem-“

“Oh really?” Stark shook his head in disbelief, “and what will it cost us now? More lives lost? Oh wait, let me guess you won’t kill us or enslave us today, right?”

“Or perhaps for the last time I was in this city?” Loki smiled, full of teeth, but Stark shook his head with a toothy smile of his own.

“I ain’t falling for that trick again, Reindeer Games. Nope, frankly don’t care about the bargain you made-“

“You do not care for the hundreds of lives lost when I _used_ your building-

“Seriously? Jarvis, please let the media know that Loki’s here and-“

“But you will not let them know because it will bring questions, questions you know your precious SHIELD cannot answer and will not answer,” Loki loved baiting Stark and saw him frown as his lie was caught nice and neatly into the palm of his hand. He had studied the global “media” as Barton had told him during the time under his spell, and concluded that it was no more than pandering heralds who answered at the beck and call of bloodshed and war; highlighting the misery of those that suffered and those that glorified the warrior-like mortals. No wonder Thor found a lot in common with the mortals. Even some of the sciences, no matter how applied, someone found a use to make it into a weapon and Tony Stark was perhaps one of the biggest causes.

“I could still do it. In fact, I’m not on SHIELD’s payroll you know. Just because I work with the others who work _for_ Fury doesn’t make me on Fury’s payroll. Hell, I don’t like half of the stuff they’re doing!” Stark’s eyes were dark with anger before shook his head, “Why the hell am I defending myself to you anyways?! Thor, you said you were going to _consult_ with your brother-“

“He’s not my brother,” Loki narrowed his eyes, irritated.

“-not bring him here!” Stark continued heedless of his words.

“Sir,” a disembodied, but cultured voice suddenly spoke up and Loki blinked, looking around, magicks tingling at the tips of his fingers for an attack, but there was none. “I’ve contacted Director Fury instead and he is aware of the situation. He will be sending in a team to assess the situation.”

“Assess the situation? Uh, no, Jarvis, tell him he can land the quinjet at the helipad, but he isn’t sending in a SHIELD team to storm my place. In fact, Reindeer Games can wait up there for them.”

“Son of Stark, I understand your concern, but my brother _has_ personally asked the Allfather to rectify this situation. I can vouch for his good faith on this. He may be familiar with the poisons used upon Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers.”

“He probably created them,” Stark replied darkly and Loki pursed his lips as Thor fell silent. Loki could hear the silent question Thor’s body practically screaming, whether or not he had anything to do with this. Surprisingly Stark was not too far off the mark and the man of iron realized what he had intended as a joke was perhaps the truth. “Oh shit, are you serious?!”

Loki rolled his eyes, “Would I be here if I did create such a poison?”

“Let me guess, yes,” Stark’s eyes flashed in anger, “it would be just like you to do something like that. To watch two of the best that I know suffer and eventually die.”

The words stung and it was an effort for Loki not to reel back as if he had been slapped by them. He knew he should not consider the opinion of the mere mortal, even though Stark was by far the closest to a battlemage on this realm, but it hurt. Even after Thanos, the Chitauri, it still hurt. Instead, he laughed lightly and shook his head, “Petty insults are the best you could come up with?”

“Just because you have a habit of cleaning up the problems you created, doesn’t mean you have to be a complete psychopath to watch your own handiwork-“

“Hey! You’re back!” the forced jovial tone of Dr. Bruce Banner cut Stark off and made everyone look beyond the doors to see the mild-mannered scientist adjusting his glasses as he stepped out into the balcony. A strained smile appeared on his face and Loki frowned as Stark stepped forward.

“I thought you were downstairs in the labs-“

“Jarvis told me that Thor was back so I wanted to get his opinion on what other tests I could run on this think save for cracking it open,” Banner smiled openly at everyone and Loki immediately picked up on the lie. If this Jarvis was the disembodied voice, then there was no way that Banner did not know that he too was here with Thor. Banner suddenly stuck his hand out towards Loki, “Good to see you again.”

Loki stared at the hand for a long minute before Stark snidely piped up, “You shake it.”

“Only if one wishes to be friends-“ he started before Stark’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Hey, don’t you go insulting my friend here-“

“Loki-“

“Uh-“

He stopped Dr. Banner from saying anything as well as to shut both Thor and Stark up by taking the doctor’s hand and shaking it once, grip firm; all the while shooting the man of iron a smirk as he released the doctor’s hand. “I trust you have come to no harm in recent events?” he directed his polite question to Banner who looked a little surprised at his gesture before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“Uh, no. Tony here called me in to see if I can help with this,” with his other hand Banner reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black sphere about the size of a child’s marble.

The sphere itself was matte black, seemingly sucking in the light from all directions, but also did not give off anything that Loki could sense from it without the brush of his magicks.

“It’s not giving off any particular radiation levels that I was able to scan nor is it seemingly made of any material here on Earth. It’s more than likely an alien design, but since it’s not giving off the magical equivalent of radiation, I don’t really know what to make of it. I wasn’t able to penetrate whatever barrier it has around it to scan inside. I was about to crack it to see if I could figure out what kinds of chemical compounds are there to hopefully start a cure, but I figured we should wait until you got back Thor. It’s only been a few days since you left, but…since Loki’s here, maybe you can help us?” Banner looked at him and tossed him the little black sphere.

Even as the surface of the sphere touched his outstretched fingers as he neatly caught the thrown object, Loki immediately knew that it was a trap. It was not a trap set by Dr. Banner, but rather by what he had unwittingly threw at him. He reacted on instinct, pushing the others back from him with a silent spell, before his hands worked the spells that he had long known to contain a poison of this kind as the black matte sphere exploded.

He jerked his head back on instinct in an effort not to breathe even though he knew his spell had been successful and held the crackling barrier of energy in between his hands. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the dissipating poison held back only by his magicks.

“Loki-“

“What the _hell_ was that?!” Stark’s muffled voice made him turn to see the man of iron covering his mouth with a hand while Thor had stepped forward, hammer gripped tightly. This was nothing Thor could conceivably smash his way through, the irksome thought passed through his mind.

“It exploded…” Banner had not even put his hand to his mouth, but Loki noted with some chagrin that he had turned a bit green, but his skin was now returning to its normal tanned color.

“Yes it exploded,” he agreed tightly as he concentrated on keeping the barrier steady, watching as more of the gaseous poison slowly dissipated into harmless air.

“It’s releasing its gas,” Stark’s voice was still muffled.

“You are perfectly safe,” Loki rolled his eyes at the man of iron and Stark snorted and shook his head.

“You’re the God of Mischief and Lies so I’m not giving you the benefit of the doubt,” Stark shot back as he shuffled a step back at the same time shuffling a step forward. Loki realized that Stark was indecisive, wanting to both flee from the area and at the same time see what was within the barrier he was keeping the poison contained in.

“Brother-“

“I am _not_ your brother,” he hissed quietly and saw the hurt on Thor’s face. It was also then that he realized he had not said those words to Thor since he had been revived by the Casket of Ancient Winters. They both knew that Thor had called him his brother more than once since then, but for him to say such words at the moment… Loki was determined not to feel guilty, but now was not the time-

“Is it because I tossed it at you? Because I didn’t mean to do that-“

“It is a failsafe,” he replied tightly as he mentally shored up a crack in the barrier while keeping the poison at bay. This was a very strong poison and he had a nasty feeling about its creator. Only _he_ would be able to create such poison, as it had been his forte as both the healer and poisoner of the coterie. “And a warning,” he added, _meant for me_.

“A failsafe? So how come we weren’t able to break it earlier?” Stark had finally decided that it was safe to breathe the air around them once more and stepped forward, bending his knees a little to study the crackling barrier. Loki frowned at him, feeling more like a display case than trying to contain the poison as it slowly dissipated.

“It is something your mere technology cannot crack,” he could feel his hands start to shake and gritted his teeth a little, “nor break. If you had magicks and did not know, you would have instantly been killed and the secrets would have been dead with you. It also prevents the enemy from using this weapon against its creator.”

“So how did you know what it was Thor?” Stark asked as Loki concentrated on the barrier, forcing the oxygen within to completely nullify the poison as it seemingly fought back to consume the oxygen. It wasn’t much and he was working with a limited supply, but he would be damned if the poison so much as escaped.

“Because I had felt it once before. I could not be sure until I consulted with the Allfather and Loki here, but seeing this-“

Loki slammed his hands together; breaking the barrier and sending a spray of leftover magicks into the air as he finally finished his work and breathed a sigh of relief.

“What did you do?” both Stark and Banner asked at the same time and he gave them a sideways look. They were like the ravens of the Allfather, curious to no end and always seemingly jabbering with questions and so forth.

“Dissipated it,” he replied.

“But the cure-“

“Would not have been found inside it,” he interrupted sourly, acknowledging Banner’s grim shake of his head, “unfortunately the spell used to contain it and force it amongst the oxygen renders any type of scan completely useless. The containment process would have fought against its innate magicks within to spread and contaminate.” He secretly wished there had been another way, but he had reacted on instinct and it was instinct that had saved all of them from dying right then and there.

“Damn,” Banner shook his head, “I thought we could have had the cure right then and there. I mean, I did draw their blood, but the analysis has yet to be completed-“

His words were drowned out by the whine of an approaching quinjet as it came in for a landing on the helipad of Stark Tower. Loki noted to some degree of surprise that Stark had completely renovated the area where he had _compelled_ Dr. Selvig to set up the Tesseract-based portal device into a landing pad where the quinjet now sat. There were some unusual things on the edges of the pad that he knew should not be there, and caught Stark with a wolfish smile on his face. The man of iron had been staring at his reaction and Loki met the smile with a thin-lipped one of his own.

“Security and deterrent,” Stark replied to his unspoken question before waving a hand at them, “Since Touch of Doom here destroyed the evidence; you guys get the nice pleasure of explaining to Fury why we don’t have a sample to work with anymore.”

“Thanks Tony,” Banner replied dryly before Stark shook his head.

“I meant those two, not you. If you want, you can stay here and keep working with the blood samples we got. There has to be a way to at least make something of a stop-gap cure until we can find another alternative-“

“I’ll probably also head to the Helicarrier-“

“Wait, what? No!”

“Tony, think about it. If Loki’s here, it means something’s going to go down and whatever it is, it may be key to getting a cure for Romanoff and the others,” Banner shrugged as if being on the Helicarrier was not an issue.

Loki tilted his head curiously at the nonchalant attitude that the doctor was wearing; he knew first hand how much the doctor did not want to be there, having picked Barton’s brain for the information – knew how much of a threat SHIELD considered Banner to be even though they claimed otherwise. It was why he had put together his plan in the first place. The Hulk was by far the biggest threat and asset the Avengers were sure to have – but after the _incident_ with Thanos, Loki was wondering why there was such an attitude about yet at the same time a resignation hanging there.

Perhaps SHIELD still did not trust Dr. Banner and while it brought some measure of comfort to Loki, it also somehow disturbed him. He did not know why, after all Banner was just a mere mortal, albeit one of the few to extend a measure of courtesy and outward friendliness towards him – but Loki had long decided it was his inner fear of the Hulk and being thrown about like a ragdoll by him.

“I don’t care about the whole ‘if Loki’s here’ type of deal. That’s no excuse for you to feel pressured to go to the Helicarrier-“

“Tony-“

“And just because you feel obligated to help the _unpunished_ war criminal here-“

“Obligated? Really Tony? No, that’s not how it works-don’t interrupt me – because I certainly don’t feel obligated to _help Natasha, Ward, and also Steve_ _and the other agents that you neglected to mention who were affected by the poison_. Yeah, sure, that’s not obligation-“

“That’s not-“

“That’s fair and you know it. Tony, I’m going. I know what you were trying to do and thank you, really, _thank you_ for doing that. But I’m going. You and I know that even though your lab’s got all of the works and can access SHIELD, it will be easier for me to try to find a cure quickly if I’m with them on the Helicarrier or even at whatever medical facility they’ve been shipped off to.”

“You fight dirty,” Stark looked angry, but shook his head, “fine then. Head up guys, I’ll catch up with the sample analysis.”

“Tony-“

“It’s fine,” there was something in Stark’s tone that had become brittle and flippant as he walked back inside without so much as a wave to them; not that Loki expected the man of iron to be so courteous. But at the same time he could see something crumbling in the doctor’s expression and it made him uncomfortable, reminding him of something long past…of himself, but not with Thor in place of Stark.

“We should do as the man of iron said,” Thor put in quietly, but with the bluntness of his hammer. Loki all but shook his head and swept past the two of them, taking the set of stairs that he saw led up to the helipad. He heard them follow as he saw the quinjet’s ramp open and two agents whom he did not know step out, their guns not quite raised towards him, but not shying away either.

He smiled at them and saw them stiffen a bit before their postures relaxed, signaling to Loki that Thor and Banner had come up the stairs behind him. One of them touched her ear and spoke quietly before gesturing for him with a frown to enter. “Why thank you,” he said with the entire vacuum of politeness and saw the agent twitch a little in an effort not to shoot him. Taking a seat near the entrance, he sat down as Thor and Banner also entered, his brother fitting into one of the larger jump seats and Banner sitting himself in at the far corner of the quinjet, closest to the cockpit. He immediately belted himself in and turned away from them, a frown on his face, clearly wanting to be left alone.

“Tony Stark said he would be joining us soon. I presume he is to fly in his suit to the Helicarrier,” Thor spoke up from his seat before the two agents glanced at each other and conferred with whoever was speaking to them judging by the cant of their heads. As one they both entered and one of them knocked on the cockpit door as the other pressed a button to bring the ramp back up.

Soon they were in the air and Loki felt the slightly unpleasant swooping sensation of a hovering quinjet before the tug of momentum as they flew towards their destination. It was about twenty minutes into their flight that Loki saw one of the two agents, both whom had remain standing in the quinjet, reach over to hand Dr. Banner a headset. Loki watched, mildly interested, as the doctor stared at the headset before putting it on and his face contorted into a series of half-laughs followed by a look of exasperation and then a resigned shake before he spoke into the microphone on the headset.

Loki knew he could easily cast a spell to listen into the conversation, but he decided not to, and it was not because of a polite quasi-friendliness with the doctor. He figured it had to be Stark on the other end, the man of iron perhaps apologizing for his treatment and words.

“Was it really Jormungandr’s spell?” Thor rumbled near him, leaning over in his chair to ask his question.

Loki shrugged, not exactly in the mood to answer his brother’s question, but at the same time, feeling a little spark of jealousy at the easy smile Banner now wore. He was not jealous of the banter and friendship between the scientist and the insufferable man, but he was jealous of the way Banner was able to relate and forgive Stark so quickly.

“Loki-“

“I do not know, so stop asking me,” he hissed back at Thor, before crossing his arms and closing his eyes, wanting some peace and not wanting to see anymore of Banner’s smile.

There was the creak of armor plates as Thor leaned back against his seat, but did not say anything else. Loki huffed a silent sigh and mentally shook his head. Asking the Allfather to deal with this was a bad idea, yet at the same time, he knew that it was something he needed to deal with and not let anyone else interfere. It was as if-

The creak of Thor’s armor made him cut his thought off before he heard his brother rumble quietly near him, “If it is truly Jormungandr or even if it is not, I will stand arm in arm with you, brother.”

Loki sighed loudly and opened his eyes as he stared at no point in particular on the quinjet, feeling it bank and the rumble of its engines grow louder as it made its descent to the Helicarrier. He had been on edge since Thor brought back the news, trying to find all sorts of distraction during his time in the library, his impromptu chess match with his mother, the feast, even trying to find some kind of distraction with Stark’s inane rambling and Banner’s mild-manners.

It would do no good to see how much the news rattled him, especially if it truly was Jormungandr. If it was not Jormungandr, well, he was not known as the God of Mischief, Trickery, and Lies for nothing and whomever was responsible would pay for their sorry attempt at mocking him. Even as the quinjet started to settle and land, Loki stood up, brushing himself off, startling the two agents who once again drew their weapons, but did not quite point it at him. He heard Thor stand up behind him as the quinjet finally landed with a quiet thump and one of the agents reached out to open the ramp.

“To _what_ do we owe the pleasure now, oh God of Lies?” Director Fury was standing at the end of the ramp, posture relaxed, hands behind him, but his lone eye spoke another story. They were angry, annoyed and at the same time resigned.

“Nothing more than a passing interest in your recent discovery of HYDRA’s secret lair,” he had plucked the more relevant information Thor had spoken during his telling of the tale at the feast.

“Oh really,” Fury did not look convinced as Loki stepped down the ramp and gave him an open smile, one which was not returned. “Admit it, you just miss us,” the dark-skinned man said sarcastically.

“I try not to make it too much of a habit to come here-“

“Except to blow up cities and play pranks on the rest of the populace,” Fury interjected, “I’ve been reading some of the stories about you.”

“And they are just that, mere tales,” Loki was vaguely aware of tales told of him, Thor, Odin, and a host of Asgardians and even Frost Giants, and the like. Some were of names that he did not even know, but he supposed the mortals were prone to creating wildly inaccurate tales of things that they could not comprehend.

“Yeah, well, fiction sometimes come from fact and vice versa,” Fury shook his head, “so what’s your price now?”

Loki laughed lightly as he spread his hands out, noting that there were no other agents around, but he was willing to bet that they were hidden within the vicinity. The clomping of boots on the inner hanger bay told him that the man of iron had arrived. “No price,” he said, “no catch, just a vested interest in HYDRA’s leader.”

“Vested _personal_ interest?” Fury tilted his head and Loki’s smile only grew a little wider.

“Perhaps,” he clasped his hands behind him.

“Director, I can vouch for my bro-for Loki’s interest as it is mine too,” Thor rumbled behind him and Loki saw Fury’s gaze narrow a little as he digested the new information.

“Can I ask why?” Fury looked back and forth in between them, “or is it some kind of hush-hush that’s gonna blow up in all our faces like Thanos.”

All of the sort-of goodwill he had been feeling towards Fury vanished in an instant as he frowned and gritted his teeth in anger. He had _not_ kept Thanos a secret from them even though he had innately _known_ what was going to happen. It was something that they should have been aware of from the beginning and he had practically _told_ them when he had arrived with Thor after the harried battle on Jotunheim. For Fury to insinuate this-

“ _I_ , believe,” Thor reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, “that HYDRA’s newest leader is a healer of great skill name Jormungandr. My _brother_ here, is only here to confirm or deny Jormungandr’s presence.”

“You?”

“Yes,” there was something in Thor’s even tone that Loki could not quite identify until he realized it that he had heard it time after time since Thanos had wrecked his path to him before being trapped – unconditional support. The firmness of Thor’s hand on his shoulder gave weight to his words.

“And what happens then?”

“He will be brought to justice,” Thor replied, “both Asgardian and Midgardian justice Director. I understand your position regarding Loki’s actions here on Earth and will not deny you that chance.”

“Your dad doesn’t seem to think so-“

“My father will hear wisdom in my words,” Thor shrugged as if it was a mere thing, but Loki heard the weight behind them and they sounded like what the King of the Nine Realms would say.

“Just a consultant, you say?” Fury’s lips curled in a twisted sense of amusement and Loki heard Stark splutter behind him, but did not know what had passed between the two. Whatever it was, it infuriated Stark to no end, so he let it pass.

“All right, so what now,” Fury seemed to accept the terms stated and placed his hands on his hips.

“Director, I’m going to need a lab to work in along with some specialized equipment, I have the list-“ Banner stepped up and held up a piece of paper.

“Done,” Fury extended his hand and shook Banner’s, “it’s good to see you again Doctor.”

“Can’t say I’m kind of glad to be back here, but I need to be near the patients if they haven’t been moved yet…?”

“No,” the dark-skinned man shook his head, “I’ve put them all under quarantine and I feel a lot safer if they’re up here than down in some lab somewhere where HYDRA can get at them again.”

“Good idea,” Banner agreed before gesturing towards Stark, “Tony, you got the results?”

“Yeah, can’t quite read them well, but I think it’s not the ones your looking for,” Stark shrugged as he clomped over still in his metal exoskeleton, “I can see if they respond to the modified Extremis virus-“

“Or that might make it worst,” Banner grimaced, “anyways, Director, if you could tell the staff that I’ll probably need some fresh vials of blood so we can test that theory…”

“I’ll have it sent to your lab. Agent Sitwell can escort you there,” Fury said as Loki was amused at the sudden appearance of a seemingly innocuous agent with olive skin and steel-rimmed glasses on his nose. They watched as Stark, Banner, and Sitwell left the hanger bay before Fury turned to them.

“And you-“

“I will need to see those that had survived the poison,” he cut Fury off before the Director stared at him, his lone eye blinking several times before an eyebrow rose as if he was ascertaining the truth of his words. He finally nodded slowly before making a quick gesture with his fingers and a female agent whom Loki vaguely remembered as Hall, or something appeared by Fury’s side, having hidden herself in the shadows of the quinjet that had landed.

“Agent Hill will escort you,” Fury said and Loki was well aware of the unspoken command that Hill would perhaps try to incapacitate him should anything untoward happen.

“I look forward to our new arrangement,” he smiled toothily at Fury before following Hill out of the hanger bay, Thor following them.

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

Please note, I am NOT asking for reviews, I will never hold a story hostage for reviews – but I do like feedback. It’s been a while since I wrote Loki and I would like to hear back from readers if I’m characterizing him right or if something is wrong with what’s happening at the moment in terms of plot. If you don’t feel like leaving feedback or a review, that’s fine too, I will not fault you for it (I’m horrible at leaving reviews too).

 


	4. Chapter 4

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 4_

 

The thought that Hill was perhaps trying to make him confused by the Helicarrier’s layout by leading him through a series of winding corridors was briefly in Loki’s mind. But he push passed it realizing that it was truly SHIELD protocol that those who had been poisoned and survived were under the strictest of isolation, or quarantine as Fury had put it. He had seen such isolation a few times in the thousand and something years he had been alive, poisons that were created within the realm’s natural defenses, cultivated from the various plants on planets within the realm itself. Or even magical spells that had not been tested yet, but had created situations where it had spread like contagion.

The soldiers on guard within the Helicarrier did not seem as surprised to see them, but Loki easily read their hostility in their body languages as they stayed at their post. He only smiled gamely, not bothered by their attempts to provoke him. Surprisingly, Thor followed silently behind, though he had banished his armor along the way. Loki had not worn his armor at all, having left it on Asgard, but he was beginning to wonder if he should have brought it.

The poison cloud he had dissipated on top of Stark Tower had traces of _his_ magical signature, but he still was not sure if it was truly Jormungandr. Mentally shrugging to himself, he reasoned silently that with armor, he was probably more vulnerable as speed was of the essence when dealing with the Midgard serpent.

“So, Loki, you know who we’re dealing with?” Hill said suddenly as she walked ahead of them.

“I have theories,” he replied after a moment of trying to sense whether or not her question had any hostility or untoward meaning. “But I cannot be sure until I am able to verify a few things.”

“Theories you probably don’t want to share right now, right?” she asked, not even glancing back at him and he snorted lightly.

“I have my secrets, you have yours,” he replied.

“Loki, I do not think this is a secret that should be kept,” Thor rumbled quietly behind him, but he ignored his brother’s request.

“Want to enlighten me, Thor?” Hill’s ears were sharp even with Thor’s near-whisper and he frowned.

“I…it is a delicate matter that I do not think improper-“

“Impropriety was always your strongest suit, Thor,” Loki shot back, “and you would only be filling her head with speculations and wild accusations that may lead to nowhere. For all we know, it could be a mortal sorcerer who has done such a thing. After all, was it not a mortal who discovered the Tesseract in one of their wars?”

“So if it isn’t?” Loki turned his head back around to see Hill stopping by a door and punching in a keycode.

He brushed the pad discreetly as he had done before the last time he was on the Helicarrier and memorized the code she put in even though she had clearly shielded herself in front of it. All the while, he had to acknowledge her astute capability of listening for things _not_ said versus things said. At the same time he knew that she was hoping he would answer her trapped question and deigned not to reply by quickly brushing past her and into the isolation ward.

“The fucking hell is _he_ doing here?!” Clint Barton’s pointed finger and accusation made him stop and spread his hands out as a smile graced his features. Loki felt a bloom of dark amusement at how riled up the archer got even after his absence all these months at his presence.

“Stand down Agent Barton,” Hill squeezed past him, one hand on the butt of her holstered gun, her other hand held out in an attempt to ward the archer away. He saw Barton reach behind him as if to draw an arrow and string it before he himself, realized he was not wearing his arrow pack and bow. Instead, he changed tactics and drew out a small handgun and pointed it straight at him – or rather straight at Hill’s head as if he could magically shoot through her to get to him.

“Barton!” Hill barked, but the man did not twitch, “Stand. Down.”

“What’s he doing here, ma’am?” Barton’s voice was tight with deep-seeded anger, “I thought we were done with fuckers like him-“

“Language!” her sharp voice cut him off and Loki was inwardly surprised at the venom they contained. For a moment, she sounded like Queen Frigga in all of her royal glory and the Queen was someone not to be trifled with when angered – even Odin Allfather avoided angering her.

“Ma’am…”

“Stand down and I will tell you why,” Hill continued, dropping her voice into a quiet calm tone.

For a moment Barton seemed to war with the conflicting emotions within before he finally breathed out a noisy sigh and holstered his gun, but did not step back.

“Thank you,” Hill nodded once, “Loki is here because Thor brought him here.”

“What you couldn’t call him on the Bifrost phone and talk to him? You had to bring him here?” Barton’s voice was still tight with anger.

“Maybe Loki knows what’s going on Barton,” the voice of Steven Rogers made everyone, the archer excluded, turn to see him rise up from where he had been sitting further down the isolation ward.

“Or maybe he created it,” the archer shot back still trying to burn holes into him with his glare, “just like he did the whole thing with Thanos.”

It was odd, how nearly the same comment did not even bother Loki when it came from the archer instead of Stark. He supposed it was probably because he knew that Barton would forever hate him and while Stark held perhaps the same amount of animosity, he also did not really know the depths of Stark’s hatred – unlike Barton’s. It was easily ignored and pushed aside as he moved towards the beds.

“Loki, what-“ Agent Hill started, but before she could get in another word of protest, he cast his spell, splaying his fingers out towards Romanoff who was lying on one of the beds.

He heard everyone around him seemingly panic for a moment as they scrambled for weaponry or were shouting, but ignored all of it as he concentrated on his spell and on Romanoff. She was paler than he had last remembered her, her red hair hanging limply across her closed eyes. A breathing contraption of sorts had been placed over her nose and mouth as well as multiple tubes and wires that seemingly beeped at steady intervals. It only took him a moment to realize that they were monitoring her brain waves and heart rate.

For all he knew, she could have been sleeping, even with the wires and tubes eliminated from her pale form, but with his spell, he was able to see just below her skin. An energy web of sorts seemingly crisscrossed the blue of her veins, just below the surface, like shooting stars across the night sky. They bloomed and ebbed with each minute explosion, seemingly sending even more sparks across her pale prone form. He studied it, tuning out the noises behind him as he weaved his spell a little tighter. He needed to be delicate in this process, or else the trace would be long gone. He gently bent the tip of his index finger as he traced one particular synapse, watching it as it traveled from her jawline down to her neck where it burst into pieces across her shoulder.

Several paths traveled down her arm and back up it again, while more spread across her body. He saw past the flimsy gown she had been put in, tracing the path through her body’s core. A part of him murmured that it was a violation of her privacy, but Loki dismissed it as he continued to watch its path progress all the way down to her hips where it traced the main lines of her nervous and muscular structure. There were traces of some foreign material mixed in as it had traveled from her heart downwards; but he flicked the tip of his pinky finger to push it aside for further study as the original trace continued its journey towards her knees, where it burst into another million pieces. Some headed back up, affecting other parts of her body, but he traced the original source where it ended at the tips of her feet and straightened his index finger.

Frowning a little, he looked towards her pale face once more and focused in on her nose, his thumb twitching a little as he brushed the surface layer with his spell. It was not much, but it was one of the entry points, the concentration of the poison greatest there and also within her mouth. Even her eyes had traces and it was perhaps a testament to either her health or maybe the mysterious foreign material he had traced that she was still alive.

There was one more test he could do, but he also knew that to try it, especially with Agent Barton here, was tantamount to suicide and Loki had no inclination of facing the wrath of everyone in SHIELD. Even Thor would have turned against him and he would rather not be pinned to wherever by Mjolnir.

Releasing the spell, he turned to the other bed that Rogers had been sitting next to and deduced that this was Agent Ward, the other person who had breathed the poison in, but had not perished. He cast his spell once more and traced the clusters, his frown deepening as he bent the crook of his index finger, finding it a little harder to receive a solid read on his trace. Ward must have not breathed in much, but breathed in enough that he was affected. He did not know the circumstances of what had happened, but could only guess that Romanoff, for all of her aloofness and claims of lack of attachments, perhaps stopped Ward and Rogers from making her fatal mistake.

“…Loki,” Rogers’ voice was quiet, but he canted his head in acknowledgment as he continued to trace his spell over Ward. “I know this is probably not a good time to tell you this, but….the others, the HYDRA soldiers who were also caught in the effects, they fell to the ground like they had been shot, point blank.”

He heard the hesitation in the enhanced soldier’s shuffling of his feet as he traced a small cluster to Ward’s hip bone where it surprisingly did not travel downwards as much as it did upwards back through the man’s intestines.

“Continue,” he murmured quietly, half puzzling over this new development compared to what he had scanned Romanoff for.

“They bled out, their blood like black thick, dripping sludge. I don’t know if it was acidic, but I thought it was burning me. There weren’t any traces on my armor, but I thought it was burning my skin through my armor, almost like venom from snakebite or something,” Rogers gave his information in a factual manner, but Loki picked up on the distress that the Captain had to have been feeling. There was guilt at leading those under his command into the situation that landed them like this, but at the same time, there was a hopeful resignation that something could be done. The resignation that if there was nothing that could be done, then that would be two more soldiers that perished under his command.

At the same time, he could feel a worm of not quite guilt, but rather resignation of what the Captain had described. Damn, this was not what he wanted it to be, but Rogers’ words had fit what he had dreaded to hear and to know. There were a few more things he needed to confirm, but what he had described…it had been described by Thor once before.

He released the spell on Agent Ward before moving over to the third bed and scanned the unconscious agent, frowning again as had to dig a little deeper to actually pick up on the signatures. He had thought _they_ had been imprisoned for good, that it was a mercy compared to what the Allfather could have done. It was for the best and it was the best considering the circumstances. And now…

He finished up his scan and released the spell, taking a moment to compose his features into one that would show nothing. He turned around and saw that Barton had moved to the foot of Romanoff’s bed and had his arms crossed defensively, but was staring at him with sharp eyes. Hill had stayed back, watching him with narrowed eyes while Rogers waited patiently next to Ward’s bed. Thor was by the doorway, his eyes desperately searching his composed face for any answers, but Loki refused to given an inch.

“Excuse me,” Banner’s muffled voice came by the door way and all turned to see the scientist squeezing past Thor’s bulk.

Loki ignored his entry and turned to Agent Hill, “I will need vials of blood-“

“Err, I’m actually picking mine up-“

“Fresh ones, not the ones you will be conducting your tests with,” he countered, “from each of the poisoned patients, including the Captain here.”

“Wait what?!” Rogers balked and Loki smiled grimly at him.

“You are the second being in all of the nine realms to describe what has happened to those who breathed the poison in,” he did not meet Thor’s gaze as his brother started at the revelation.

“Uh….”

“Perhaps it is you who is the modified mortal soldier that has been able to survive,” he speculated, “but you have breathed the poison in.”

“I…I feel fine-“

“Agent Hill, please take me to those who have perished,” he brushed past Rogers and made his way towards the entrance to the isolation ward before he heard Banner start to talk to Rogers about perhaps he being the cure. He wanted to tell the two of them that Rogers was _not_ the cure, but at the same time something prevented him from doing it. It only took a moment for him to realize that he oddly did not want to dash that hope, not just yet and wondered when he had become so sentimental towards the mortals. They were nothing except parasites and leeches that died and lived in brief flickering candled lives.

As the female agent regained her composure, he saw her touch her ear, “Director, Loki says that Rogers is also compromised. Banner’s going to see if he can make a cure out of Rogers’ blood, but hopefully we have a lead.”

“Is it him?” Thor rumbled behind him, but Loki ignored him and continued to walk deeper into the Helicarrier.

“Loki-“ he felt Thor reach out to grab him and spun on his heel, pinning him in place with a warning glare not to touch him. “Is it him?”

He turned back around and continued to follow Hill who had stared at them with curious, but calculating eyes. Let her draw her own conclusions, he sniffed quietly; she would never understand what was going on. They soon reached a sparely populated area and Hill keyed in another set of codes that Loki brushed with a spell and memorized. The door hissed open, releasing cool misty vapors and Loki could feel the temperature drop a little as they stepped inside, past several hanging plastic barriers.

“This is our morgue area. We keep most of the deceased SHIELD agents here, but we picked up a few HYDRA ones too from the base since we didn’t know what we were dealing with,” Hill explained as she tugged hard on a large drawer of sorts. It slid open with a cool hiss and Loki saw that it was a black-clad soldier with an emblem that had snake-like heads over a stylized face.

Before Hill could protest, he pulled a dagger from its place in his boot and stabbed it deep into the layers of fabric and cold, dead flesh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thor holding Hill back, implicitly trusting him as he went about his work. Dragging the dagger down the body, he only had a split second warning before he immediately let the dagger go and brought both hands up, enclosing the body in the same barrier spell he had conjured when Dr. Banner had thrown the small marbleized poison at him.

“Shit! What the hell?!” Hill cursed as a loud noise started to blare at the sudden release of a black plume of gaseous ichor from the dead body. Loki felt his hands shake as he gritted his teeth and reinforced the barrier, forcing his magicks to contain the poison.

“Loki-“

“Shut the noise off! It is distracting!” he growled out through clenched teeth as he forced himself to concentrate.

“What’s-“

“My brother has it contained, please turn off the alarms,” he could barely heard Thor through the cacophony of annoying noise, but a moment later the noise stopped and Hill’s voice was unnaturally loud in the morgue.

“-yes sir. It seems like the situation is contained-“

“It is,” Thor’s voice echoed loudly.

“-will update. No, no sir. We do not need a containment team here…yes, sir, I will let you know what’s happening as soon as-“

“I believe my brother is dissipating the spell once more like he did on the rooftop of Stark’s building.”

“Wait, he did what?!”

“The poison capsule exploded when it was handed to my brother by Dr. Banner through no fault of his own. It was keyed to magicks and apparently inevitable. A clever trick that Loki says would prevent those who wielded magicks to use it against its creator,” Thor continued.

“Uh, sir, Thor’s saying that the grenade doesn’t exist anymore,” Hill said, “yes, sir, I know sir…Stark or Dr. Banner knows the details of what happened…”

Loki tuned out the rest of what was most likely an interesting conversation between Hill, Thor, and Fury as he forced the poison to dissipate. It congealed and lashed out as if it was alive and Loki smiled grimly. A clever trap and one if he had not been familiar with would have walked right into it. But with new added knowledge of what was happening, he was able to direct the seemingly poison that was a swirling maelstrom within the decaying body towards the only thing that it could lash out at, a tempting target…

He watched as the poison swirled angrily before leeching itself onto the dagger still embedded into the dead body, discoloring it into a hideous matte black color that glittered with webs of energy much like what he had scanned through Romanoff, Ward, and the unnamed agent in the isolation wards. It was seemingly organically alive, inviting if one knew what to look for, but Loki watched it completely colored the once silvery-gold dagger completely inky black before just as suddenly, the body exploded underneath the embedded dagger.

Loki reinforced the barrier as chunks of dead flesh sizzled against the barrier and dissolved into nothingness. After a few minutes, all that was left was the blackened dagger that toppled to the tray where the body had been held in.

“Is it…over?” Hill ventured to ask a few seconds later.

“Thor,” Loki ignored her as he tried to keep his hands steady, feeding the barrier spell. The decompression of the dead body had nearly made the barrier collapse, “Set Mjolnir on the dagger.”

He heard his brother’s heavy footsteps move closer to him before Thor hefted Mjolnir into his line of vision and hesitantly lifted it to the edge of the barrier. Mjolnir crackled against the barrier itself, small arcs of electric magicks playing across the surface. He was about to open his mouth to remind Thor _not_ to set his hand within the barrier, but before he could say anything, Thor dropped Mjolnir directly on top of the dagger, covering the dagger as a whole.

Loki immediately released his barrier as a crackling sound erupted from where Mjolnir itself was fighting to keep the poisonous dagger at bay. The smell of ozone and burnt electric arcs started to fill the area as wisps of smoke wafted upwards from where the dagger met Mjolnir.

“…Loki…”

He pulled a modular he had kept within the spaces in between out and cast several barrier spells upon it before opening it and letting it hover near Mjolnir. “Thor, on my mark…”

“Understood,” he knew he should be thankful that Thor had not even asked a word of what was going on or what he needed to do as his brother was wont to do at the most inconvenient times. At least Thor understood the seriousness of the situation without Loki resorting to snapping at him.

He kept one hand free, hovering just at the edges of where the electrical field Mjolnir produced kept the dagger at bay. He could feel it weakening already, the magical artifact itself not designed to contain such an organic, viscous thing at bay. His other hand held the open modular and he took a deep breath. He would have to be quick, quicker than the viper’s strike of poison. Steadying his breath, he calmed himself to strike-

“Now!” even as the words left his mouth, he was already moving, feeling the break of Mjolnir’s electrical field and slammed the modular down, grinning as the dagger was trapped within.

“Now it is over Agent Hill,” Thor rumbled as Loki picked the modular up and held it up to his eyes to stare at the poison that had corroded and eaten his dagger up.

“Is it safe in there?” Hill asked, taking a step forward, her eyes focused on the dagger contained within. Loki could feel his magicks at work keeping it at bay, but with the reinforcement of the modular itself, he did not have to exert as much as when he cast the spell directly.

“If there are any more bodies around, do not bury or burn them. Freeze them or else you will have more poisoned,” Loki said, not bothering to look at her as he rotated it slowly before placing the modular within the space in between and headed out of the morgue. He heard Hill scramble to talk to Fury over the comm. piece in her ear, as he swept down the long halls and headed back towards the hanger bay.

“Loki! Answer me! Is it him?!” Thor hurried to catch up to him, his heavy footsteps thumping behind him, but Loki did not answer as he focused on getting to the hanger bay. He pushed aside SHIELD personnel that did not leap out of the way with a flick of magicks from his fingers, making some of them yell and scream. He could hear Thor apologizing behind him, but pushed it out of his mind as he inwardly started to seethe.

It _was_ him, and all of this…it was supposed to not be like this. _They_ knew the consequences of their actions. He needed to consult the Allfather, needed to make him understand that it was not- He shook his head…he had read the hesitation and slight mistrust, the questioning within the Allfather’s gaze as he had asked to rectify the situation. And now…proof at hand that it was the worst scenario ever. He needed to petition the Allfather-

“Loki!” Loki had reacted on instinct and summoned a dagger even before he completed his spin around, throwing Thor’s hand off of his shoulder before he stopped himself.

“What,” he said flatly, annoyed and irritated as they arrived at the hanger bay.

“Is. It. Him?” Thor asked again and Loki glared at his brother.

“What do you think?” he snapped back, his patience wearing thin.

“I cannot see what you see, Loki,” Thor replied back, his voice tight with barely contained patience, “I only see what is before me and while my instincts sometimes have led me astray, I do not want to make the mistakes that have courted war.”

“This is _not_ a war,” Loki laughed bitterly; “this…this _is_ a mistake.”

Thor seemed to consider his words for a few seconds before nodding gravely, “Then I shall inform my friends and be discreet regarding such information.”

Loki snorted, “No need to be polite on my account. You give away information freely about Thanos and of what has happened without second thoughts.”

“Yes, but in this matter, it is one which…has affected us both. You are my brother Loki-“

“If this is a sentimentality you plan on using to _try_ to make us what we used to be, then you are sorely mistaken,” how many times did he have to tell Thor that they were _never_ going to be brothers again? At most, perhaps wary allies and members of the court, who occasionally fought common enemies, but that was it.

“It is a stubbornness that you seem to deny as much as I seem to uphold,” Thor shot back and Loki shook his head, but allowed Thor the victory of his words – for the moment. There were other ways to shut down Thor’s attempts to be brothers once again.

“Then if you insist on continuing the farce, I will need a workstation when I return,” he said and before Thor could get another word in edgewise, jogged to the edge of the hanger bay where the wind whipped at his hair and his tunics. “Heimdall open the Bifrost!”

His vision was soon engulfed in the starlight pressure of the Bifrost as he returned to Asgard.

* * *

Loki forced himself not to take a deep gulping breath as he landed in the golden hues of Heimdall’s Observatory. He never really had trouble using the Bifrost, but wondered if his time in the voids of Yggdrasil’s roots had changed that. Pushing the thought aside for another time, he walked past the golden-armored man and took the reigns of the horse brought before him.

“My Prince, I have not seen Jormungandr in his form amongst the land masses. It seems he may be disguised or have taken on another appearance,” Heimdall called out behind him and he turned his horse a little to acknowledge his words.

“And word on the others?” he asked, hoping that Sif and the Warriors Three had not yet made their report. He did not want to face the Allfather’s wrath if they had returned with news of either their escape or continued confinement.

“They have not yet returned,” Heimdall’s voice was decidedly neutral and his golden eyes said nothing, but Loki had the distinct feeling that the gatekeeper was a little sympathetic towards him. Even though they had their differences and Loki would not hesitate to disable the gatekeeper if it meant an end to his goals, he felt oddly touched by the seemingly extended olive branch and took it for what it was.

He heeled his horse and galloped off, making haste for the golden spires of the throne room and court of the Allfather. He could have easily pulled at the skeins and webs into the hidden paths within Yggdrasil’s shadows, but Loki did not want to walk the shadows since Thanos’ imprisonment. He had reasoned to himself that the frivolous use of magicks would only serve to drain him, and especially with the confirmation that he had received back on Midgard, he would need all of his reserves.

Dismounting as he arrived at the edges of the throne room after galloping across the Courtyard of Wonders and startling several Courtiers and guards, he hurried in and saw to his relief that the Allfather was only holding a meeting with General Tyr and Erikur. The young healer who had lost his sister Hilde in the beginning skirmishes with the Chitauri had been promoted to Archmage due to his actions in the battle to trap Thanos months ago. It was a title comparable to a General like Tyr, but one that would never see the light of day due to the Court’s mistrust of magicks and the like. All they saw was a healer, one who was not quite using magicks, but nonetheless was able to cure whatever ailed an Asgardian.

He waited at the edges of the small audience, waiting for the Allfather to acknowledge him, but when it became clear after several minutes that the Allfather would not do so, Loki started to fidget. He would not burst in and announce his business like Thor did in his boorish way, but there had to be a way, save sending a familiar or ghostly familiar, to let the Allfather know that he had returned with urgent news.

Finally after several more minutes of waiting, the Allfather lifted his head a little and dipped it slightly in acknowledgment for him to come forward. It had also quieted both Tyr and Erikur who stepped aside as they saw he was there. Loki thought he caught the amused twinkle in the Allfather’s eye of making him wait and gritted his teeth in annoyance. This was not a trifling matter, could Odin _not_ see that?

“What is it you wish, Loki?” if there was one thing that Loki was grateful for, was that no matter how public the audience, the Allfather never acknowledged him with words of affection like ‘my son’ or any of that nonsense that Thor always insisted upon. It had been a silent agreement of sorts between the two of them and Loki had taken it to heart that in a way, perhaps the Allfather had started to see his value and gifts that he had not previously seen or had seemingly dismissed.

“To petition a request to travel to Helheim,” he said quietly, keeping his gaze even upon the Allfather’s lone eye.

A single white eyebrow rose as the Allfather sat back to contemplate his request, “Judging by the lack of your brother’s presence, I would have presumed this was not Jormungandr’s work, but your petition states otherwise. To what reason? I have already requested Heimdall to transport Lady Sif and the Warriors Three to Helheim after they have finished in Lake Amsvatnir.”

“Jormungandr would not have access this easily to the deceased souls of Helheim if it not be for Lady Hel,” he brought out the contained dagger and saw Erikur immediately back away from it, gagging on seemingly invisible pressure and stench of noxious magicks that swirled within the container. Even though it was perfectly contained, there was still the actual _feeling_ of such nauseating magicks that even he could feel while holding the modular containment field. He supposed it was because he had dealt with this type of magicks before that he was able to not be repulsed by it.

He knew the Allfather also felt what Erikur felt, but was perhaps too well versed in different forms of magicks to react as violently as he had.

“Archmage-“

“Calm down General, it is only the more natural reaction,” he shot a look at General Tyr who had not moved. It was clear that those who did not wield the magicks were immune to its effects, which made the poison within all the deadlier.

“I am…I am sorry,” Erikur took several deep breaths as he tried to compose himself and shuffled forward once more, but also shied away from where Loki stood with the modular in his hand.

Loki wanted to hold the field out some more to see Erikur squirm a bit in mild amusement, but instead put the modular back in the spaces in between all the while rolling his eyes at the loud sigh Erikur exhaled upon its disappearance.

“Your petition is denied,” the Allfather suddenly said and Loki blinked, shocked.

“But-“

“General Tyr, Archmage Erikur, you will both go in the Prince’s stead. Seek out Lady Hel and bring her before me to answer for this,” the Allfather addressed to the two and Loki saw both nod, though Erikur looked a little nauseous at the prospect of traveling to Helheim.

“Allfather-“

“You are dismissed,” Odin ignored his protest and addressed the other two who bowed and left the throne room.

Loki could not believe that his petition had been denied. He was sure that the Allfather would have allowed him to travel to Helheim, but at the same time he wondered if Odin did not trust him as much as he had thought. Did he suspect that he had something to do with Jormungandr’s escape and access to the souls of the deceased? The thought hurt and he gritted his teeth in anger. “And what of me?” he grounded out quietly.

“I give you leave,” the Allfather replied and Loki glared up at the lone eye, wanting to yell at him, to shout that he was innocent.

However, at the same time, he could almost imagine seeing the Allfather seemingly agree with him, but ready to keep him imprisoned on Asgard in order to keep an eye on him. It would be as bad as having the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, Thor, and even his mother follow him around when Thanos was playing his tricks. No, he would take advantage of those words and do what he must in the meantime. He nodded once, sharp and quick, before spinning on his heel and marching out of the throne room, heading straight for the healers wing.

He would prove to the Allfather that he had _nothing_ to do with this.

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

Thank you to those who have read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this fic. You guys rock! Delving deeper into the norse myths now! Also, since this is posted on Oct. 31st, please do not spoil _Thor: The Dark World_ for me as the U.S. won’t be getting the movie until Nov. 8 th.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 5_

 

The quinjet that had taken him, Thor, and Dr. Banner to the Helicarrier was gone by the time Loki returned; the last glittering remnants of the Bifrost dropping him off at the edge of the hanger bay once more. Thor had been waiting for him as he turned and saw him walk towards him, a grim look on his face.

“I feared the Allfather would have detained you,” Thor said and Loki easily dodged his attempt to place a hand on his shoulder by moving to the side. Surprisingly, Thor took it in stride and gestured for them to walk towards the inner confines of the Helicarrier once more. “I have procured a workstation as you requested though it is in the same room where Dr. Banner is working.”

Loki frowned before nodding reluctantly. He supposed he could not fault Thor for his various attempts at trying to make him socialize with the mortals, but at least Dr. Banner was the best alternative, considering the circumstances. He could easily ignore Dr. Banner if need be and if Stark was also working on the cure, could easily silence him with a spell. He still did not understand why Thor loved the mortals and the group he was working with; they were but brief candles in their very long lives.

“Has the Allfather-“

“He has sent General Tyr and Archmage Erikur to Helheim to fetch the Lady Hel,” Loki explained, briefly wondering how long he had been gone. Surely the others knew of Jormungandr by now, but Thor seemed a little nervous judging by how he twisted Mjolnir’s leather grip in his hand.

“The Lady Hel?” But-“

“Jormungandr would not have had easy access to the souls of the deceased, Thor,” Loki shook his head, “I am sure Lady Hel has had a hand in all of this.”

“But…she-“

He laughed a little bitterly at Thor’s protest. He was like the others at Court, unable to comprehend why the ruler of Helheim would do such a thing. And like the others, many had forgotten that Hel _had been_ a part of his coterie even if she was the ruler of the realm of the dead. Then again, perhaps it was what she always wanted, to observe and see the world from a distant view, always in the shadows, always working from behind the scenes. It seemed the Allfather was the only one who remembered who Hel really was and why he had petitioned to go to her realm.

“…Loki…”

“How easily you forget, brother, of her actions and punishment,” he said, biting his lower lip as he too was reminded of who Hel truly was. Those were the memories he had long buried, had not wanted to examine again after everything. Those were the ones that he had sought to make sure would never be used again.

“She has freed Jormungandr?” Thor asked and Loki shook his head.

“That I do not know,” he replied, knowing that it was easy to lie, and speculate, but with the Allfather’s denial of his petition and the fact that Heimdall had not found Jormungandr nor had Lady Sif and the Warriors Three reported back from Lake Amsvatnir, it was all he could do to not lie. Any lie now would be suspect, anything said used against him and Loki had no inclination of being that _weak_ to embrace them again.

He could see Thor eyeing him as they walked in the steel-grey corridors, passing by SHIELD personnel who either stared at him with open suspicion or were surprised and flattened themselves against the narrow corridors. Loki felt a little brush of anger and hurt at the fact that Thor was staring at him. He wanted to say that he was not lying, but at the same time knew those words were one that always got others to think that he _was_ lying. He shook his head and pretended not to notice Thor’s look – let the Allfather speculate, let Thor wonder, he decided that he stopped caring long ago.

“I…shall add this to the impending discussion I must have with my friends,” Thor finally said after a few minutes of silences as he stopped in front of a door and pressed a small button to open it up.

To Loki’s surprise, it was the same lab he had worked in the last time he was on the Helicarrier, though all traces of where Thanos had ripped open a portal at his former station was gone. Still, Loki sent a tendril of magicks out towards that area and felt the ghosting remnant of magicks there. That was interesting and it would have to be examined, but not at the moment.

“Oh, hey Thor, Loki,” Dr. Banner greeted them as he looked up from where he had been carefully squeezing drops of liquid into vials. He looked back down and continued with what he was doing. “Sorry guys, kind of in the middle of something important…um, yeah, sure…” Banner said absently.

Loki was momentarily confused before he realized the doctor was talking into a small earpiece that looped around one of his ears and ended in a small point near his mouth. He saw the doctor tap on the ear before looking up at them with a smile on his face. “Old familiar digs, though a heck of a lot more tubes and medical equipment than the last time. Um, Thor, the others say that they’re only ten minutes out heading to D.C. which is southwest of here so you can probably catch them.”

“Understood, thank you Doctor,” Thor nodded before turning to him, “Director Fury ordered us to re-secure Washington D.C. and take the bodies of those who were deceased by HYDRA’s poison grenades for frozen storage until we could readily dispose of them.”

“If the poison has not spread,” Loki had no doubt that some of those bodies had been buried and Thor nodded grimly in assent.

“That is what I feared has happened since the attack, but nonetheless there must be efforts to contain the poison,” he said before looking at him. For a second, Loki had the brief irritated notion that Thor was going to do something _brotherly_ and _sentimental_ , but he only nodded once and left, the door hissing closed behind him.

Loki blinked a little in surprise – was Thor actually _learning?_ Had he actually gotten through to his brother that no amount of affection from him was actually going to make them into the brothers that they once were? That he did not _want_ that sort of affection-

“You know, you shouldn’t be too hard on Thor,” Banner spoke up quietly from where he was, his eyes crossed as he stared at a vial held close to his face, “he really cares for you-“

“No one asked your opinion,” Loki shot at the Doctor, irritated that he had the gall to interject himself and voice his opinion on what was clearly a disagreement between the two of them. However, he caught himself as he had nearly forgotten that Banner carried the green monster within him…

The doctor shrugged as if his words did not affect him, “I’m just saying that when you see someone like that in pieces after…well…after you died, you kind of realize stuff about motivations and all of that.”

“Sentiment,” Loki growled out quietly, “will get Thor killed.”

“Or it just might save _you_ ,” Banner lowered his vial and stared at him, his eyes holding an emotion that Loki did not want to identify.

He ignored the doctor and headed to the other workstation that had been set up with vials and liquids. He was pleased to see at least several samples of blood, all in vials, neatly to one side. Taking the rest of the liquids on the table, he put them on a counter to the side, leaving only the stand with the vials of blood in them. Each of them was labeled with numbers and labels along with the last name of the patient. He easily picked out Romanoff, the agent named Ward, and even the good Captain’s vials.

“Uh, are you going to use those?” Banner suddenly asked and Loki looked up to see him pointing to the unused beakers and bottles of liquids.

He shrugged and waved a hand to bring out what he had stored in the spaces-in-between, his inter-dimensional pocket. Since the Casket of Winters had been long gone, it had felt rather empty, thought not without some of his leftover modular projects and untested spells around it. At least it had left enough room, though ‘room’ was relative to the space-in-between, for him to carry what he needed back to Midgard after he had been dismissed from the Allfather’s presence.

“I’m gonna use them, okay…whoa, what’s that?” Banner had moved to collect the unused bottles on the counter before noticing what he was pulling out.

“Healing stones,” Loki said as he dropped a medium sized bag of the stones he had helped himself to in the Healing Halls. Eir, the head of the Healing Halls had been none the wiser, though she had been clearly distracted by Erikur’s presence as he explained about his upcoming trip to Helheim and what he needed to do there to survive the realm of the dead.

“That’s…cool, it feels kind of tingly,” Banner had picked one up and for a moment Loki wanted to stop him from crumbling it, releasing its magicks because he knew he would need it, but he saw that the scientist had not even moved to crush it. Instead, he was rotating it around, staring at its luminescent blue form. He touched his ear, “Hey Thor…yeah, good, you’re on there. Good…um, Loki’s brought healing stones-yeah, uh…I don’t know lemme ask…”

Loki blinked as Banner looked at him and raised the stone up a bit, “Thor wants to know if you need the ones he has on him-wait, you guys carry them on you?” There was a slight distant look on Banner’s face as he absently nodded and made noises of agreement before a smile curled the edges of his lips, “That’s kind of cool. Instant medical field dressing and healing though I guess probably only for non-fatal wounds, right?”

“I have enough,” Loki shrugged before Banner put the stone down and reached into his pocket and procured a small earpiece, unlike the one that he had worn once when Agent Coulson had given it to him before.

“Before I forget, here,” Banner handed him the earpiece, “that way you can stay in touch if the team finds anything with the bodies there. You touch the button here to mute and this button here changes the frequencies. You can hear the frequency you’re on after you touch it once. It’ll say what frequency it’s on before letting you talk.”

He took the earpiece and looped it into his ear before immediately touching the small button that Banner had indicated as mute. At the same time he saw the doctor shake his head as if he had expected this and sighed, “Yeah, he muted it.”

“That’s ten you owe me and Barton, Cap. Pay up when we get back,” Stark’s voice was gleefully vindictive over his ear and Loki frowned before reaching up to take it out. If he was going to hear Stark crow about him through this whole thing then he would rather not hear anything at all-

“Tony…” he stopped himself from ripping the earpiece out as he heard Rogers’ voice over the comm. The Captain had clearly breathed the poison in so why was he out on the quinjet? The mortal was clearly suicidal, but judging by what Loki knew about the soldier, he was also willing to sacrifice himself if need be, and he supposed that if Rogers thought himself well enough to move around, he was well enough to help his team out. Thor’s beloved mortals were all foolish and foolhardy, just like the Warriors Three and Lady Sif – not even an ounce of self-preservation.

“What?” the man of iron sounded defensive and out of the corner of Loki’s eye as he brought out more of what he had taken from his own rooms here, he saw Banner wincing, rubbing his eyes as if to get rid of a headache of sorts. He tuned out whatever else the man of iron was going to say as he sealed the spaces-in-between and set about arranging his workstation.

Healing was not his forte and Loki knew very well he could have asked Eir or even Erikur to help him, but he also knew that they would ask uninvited questions that he had no inclination of answering. Plus, he already knew that the magicks used, at least the one for this cure was to be tricky and Loki did not trust anyone else to do it. No one else had experience with Jormungandr and his poisons and those that did were either not there or were dead.

“I, uh…didn’t know you had all of this stuff with you,” Banner did not quite move forward to peer at the equipment he had placed on his workstation, but he also did not back away. Instead, he had a slightly bashful, yet hopeful look on his face as he stared at the things on the table. He clearly wanted to touch them, but at the same time seemed hesitant and Loki realized that Banner was being polite in not pawing at his things like Thor or any one else usually did if they entered his room. Thankfully it had been warded once more to prevent anyone, save Frigga or Odin from walking in, but during the time when he had all four Warriors watching him, it was a little unbearable.

Loki picked a small spindly object up and tossed it at Banner who caught it in surprise, eyes wide before he peered at it. “It is a weaver.”

“What’s a weaver? Wait, like a loom?” Banner took his glasses off, letting them hang on a string around his neck as he gently examined the object.

“The magicks of spells could be channeled through and funneled like thread, so to speak, allowing for minute transitions between magicks and caster. The weaver allows the spread of magicks to be stable from caster to spell,” Loki explained, wondering if Banner truly understood what he was saying before the scientist absently nodded before gently placing it down on the tabletop.

“I think I got it, but not really…it’s…well, pretty is not exactly the word I’d use, but it sounds useful if say you’re going to extract magicks from a poison or something, right?”

“Dr. Banner, has my brother brought his silvalume, boye, caron forge, and gingher?” Thor’s voice crackled across the comm. and Loki stiffened as he realized Thor had just named all but one of the objects he had on the table. When had his brother learned their names much less memorize them? He had only mentioned them once or twice in an effort to confuse Thor and get him out of his room during the times he had managed to breach the wards, but the fact that his _brother_ had memorized their names…it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

“His wha…?” Barton’s voice crackled faintly across the comm.

“English? Or at least something that resembles English?” Stark also sounded confused.

“Uh, you mean all of the things here? I guess…I’m not too sure and Loki’s kind of ignoring me,” he glanced up to see Banner looking a little sheepish as he spoke into the comm.

“There is a distant memory of him telling me the objects used to create a cure for the blood-poison that had ignited the fire in my veins,” Thor explained and Loki pressed his lips together as he tried to block out the warmth and affection in his voice. Oh, so that was where had learned those names and he remembered ranting to him about it while he had been in his sick bed in the aftermath; about how hard it had been before listing what he had to use to create the cure.

“Blood-poison?” Rogers asked.

“Yes, the same that runs through you, Agent Romanoff, and the others,” Thor said sounded hesitant, “it is the same that ran through me hundreds of years ago. It is why I had felt familiar magicks upon the inactive grenade Tony Stark here had picked up. I recognized the feel even though I am not magically inclined.”

“What do you mean by that?” Banner asked, having shuffled back and forth depositing the unopened bottles and things that Loki had cleared out. “Oh, hey I was thinking that since you’ve got something like the…weaver, right? I can focus on a cure, but I’m willing to bet that there’s probably a magical barrier or something right? It’s not all just magic?”

“Yes,” Loki said shortly as he continued to set up what he had brought with him. The calibrations needed some fine-tuning as they had rattled a little around during his trip from Asgard to Midgard.

“That’s good, because my background is in the chemical component of physics as it relates to development of the human body is on a cellular level, so it works out pretty well. So since there has to be a base component there, then I’ll work on the non-magic part of the cure and you, the magical one,” Banner looked at him and Loki rolled his eyes. Had it not been obvious from the first point on? He knew he could devise a cure, but it would have been easier if Banner had taken care of the non-magick component of the cure for the poison while he dissected the more difficult part – getting rid of the magicks within the poison so a viable cure could be delivered. However, it was easier said than done.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Banner seemed nonplussed as he gathered up the last of the bottles and beakers and placed them at his workstation before he began to organize what he had put on his table.

“A majority of Asgardians are not magically inclined,” Thor had stayed silent through the whole thing and Loki wondered why he had not spoken up when he remembered that Banner was clearly still communicating with the team, and also he realized his brother had been thinking of how to explain about Jormungandr to them. Why he had not spoken to them earlier about it was beyond Loki, but he realized with a start that his brother actually thought to give him a chance to tell his own history with them…

And that thought somehow horrified him even more than anything else. What a base sentiment from Thor who thought to seemingly _protect_ him from the truth like this. What did-

“But there our sister race, the Vanir, have the magicks that enable them to cast their spells-“

“Like tech? Advance tech?”

“There is no distinction between magick and your technology,” Thor sounded amused, “it is the same expression Jane Foster wore when I tried to explain it as best as I could, Tony Stark.”

Loki had to snicker quietly to himself at Thor’s point. He was wrong and there was a distinction, but it was more amusing to imagine the frustration on the man of iron’s part.

“We…are a warrior race,” Thor’s voice had returned to its somber tone, “proud of the battles fought, of yore and of tales to be told at feasts. We decry anything that is…unnatural…”

“Magic,” Rogers’s voice was oddly flat.

“Magick,” Thor agreed, “but we tolerate it. It is something that I have only begun to realize since my time amongst you, my friends, but it has made me think. We…are blind to certain aspects of magick happening around us, like the Bifrost, or even the weapons we use. Mjolnir is truly a weapon that calls forth lightning, yet I do not understand its true capabilities. I only understand what it is used for and how to use it, but I do not truly comprehend it.”

Loki bit his lip again, trying hard to tune out what Thor was saying, as he moved on to the next object and started to calibrate it, pouring his concentration into making sure his equipment was all set to be used.

“What about the healing stones?”

“Yes, even those,” Thor answered Banner’s question and Loki noted out of the corner of his eye that Banner was absently studying his vials, but was far more interested in the conversation Thor was having with the others on the quinjet. “For instance, we have healers, yet we do not readily acknowledge them as magick-users even though they clearly command spells and such. General Tyr told me that it was my brother’s idea to send forth healers instead of the contingent of battlemages we have on Asgard because they would be the first to cast familiars forth to warn of an impending attack by the Chitauri.”

“Why?” Rogers asked.

“According to the General, it was because they would want to save everyone in the vicinity instead of fighting for war and glory like battlemages were more inclined to do due to their training,” Thor explained before silence reigned on the comm. Loki dared not look up at Banner as he tried to gauge what the silence held. He did not want their pity nor whatever emotions they had for what Thor had just revealed.

“You mean their attitude,” Stark’s voice was still flat.

“It doesn’t give him permission to fuck with my head or kill hundreds in New York,” Barton’s voice was cold and acerbic after that moment of silence and Loki laughed lightly. At least Barton knew the real truth to the matter and surprisingly had gotten the exact reaction that he wanted him to get. He was _not_ to be pitied.

“So they were marginalized or at least sort of ignored by your society,” Rogers’ voice was hard to discern over the comm., but Loki suspected he sounded a little angry, “What does this mean?”

“Jormungandr was considered the best healer in all nine realms,” Thor started, but was cut off by both Stark and Rogers.

“Healer? I thought we were talking about poisons.”

“Jormungandr? As in the Midgard Serpent?”

“Forgive me, I did not explain it as well as I should,” Thor apologized, “it is not to my best knowledge, but from what I gather, a healer learned the arts of how our bodies react to the magicks and at the same time also learn the necessary poisons-“

“-to potentially hurt someone. Great,” Stark finished shortly.

“We do not call them poisoners, but rather healers as many of them do not use the knowledge gained for foul purposes, Tony Stark,” Thor sounded cross, “in fact Eir is considered the most respected healer in all nine realms right now and her abilities-“

“We’re getting off topic here,” Rogers interrupted Thor, “you said Jormungandr? The Midgard Serpent?”

“Yes,” Thor said, “my brother would be better at explaining the intricacies that are lost on me regarding poisons and healing arts…but you have heard of Jormungandr?”

There had been a slight pause and Loki knew Thor was trying to allow him the chance to speak on the comm. and explain, but he had no inclination to do so and instead had moved on to his next equipment, calibrating it quickly before taking the weaver that Dr. Banner had placed back on his workstation and examining it with a close look and brush of gentle magicks. So far, Thor had not expressed any sentimentality or apologetic nonsense about not being able to understand him when they had growing up – that at least had spared Loki the chance of ripping out his earpiece and squashing it underneath his heel.

“There have been a few stories published here and there about Jormungandr. I mean, all they say is that he’s a massive serpent that encircles the Earth, or rather Midgard in your case. He lives in the waters underneath, growing larger and larger since he was sent there by Odin,” Rogers explained, sounding a little sheepish, “I…did a lot of reading about myths and heroes when I was growing up.”

“My father did send Jormungandr to Midgard in the guise of a serpent,” Thor confirmed, “although I do not know if he has grown as large to encircle the Earth as those stories have claimed. However, Heimdall was not able to pinpoint Jormungandr’s location which leads me to believe that he has taken his human form once more. He could very well be the HYDRA leader we saw at Washington D.C.”

“So why? Why a serpent and why this now?” Banner spoke up, nearly startling Loki as he had all but forgotten that the other scientist was working in the same lab as he. He had been quiet since he had said for them to focus on different aspects of making the cure.

“I do not know, but Jormungandr was supposedly punished by the Allfather when he was sent to Midgard as a serpent,” Thor sounded frustrated, “I do not know how he broke through the enchantments-“

“Is it because he’s Loki’s son?” Rogers asked and Loki blinked, pausing in his work at Rogers’ question. He saw Banner look up at him, pausing in his work, but did not meet the scientist’s questioning look, and instead, focused his hearing to see what Thor was going to say.

“That is what the lore says?” Thor sounded bewildered and most likely received a confirmation from Rogers as his next words were thoughtful, “the lore is wrong, at least on Midgard. But it is an apt description of Jormungandr’s relationship to my brother, at least from what I remember and observed.”

“So they’re not related?” Rogers asked.

“No,” Thor replied, “but in hindsight, it is applicable to say that the members of my brother’s coterie were like family, Jormungandr like his son.”

“In hindsight? Geez,” Banner muttered none too loudly and Loki thought it was over the comm, but realized Banner had not spoken those words to the others as he tapped his ear, shaking his head.

He wrinkled his brow as he stared at the doctor who was now doing something else with his vials, slowly drawing out blood from one of the vials and injecting it into different colors of liquids. Loki wondered if it was too much of a stretch to believe that the doctor understood what had really happened and pursed his lips a little before returning to finish the calibrations on his final piece of equipment.

“Loki had a coterie,” Rogers stated.

“Yes,” Thor replied, sounding a little bewildered.

“What’s a coterie?” Stark asked.

“Hooboy…” Loki canted his head a little as Rogers let loose a breath that briefly filled the comm. with a static sound, “your brother had a coterie. Okay…um, well…it’s kind of an obsolete terminology that’s not really used anymore. The closest I think is probably…clique? Yeah, maybe a clique, but not the sense of teenagers these days.”

“That is an image I didn’t need Cap,” Stark sounded annoyed.

“It’s mainly a group of people who have close associations with each other. High society in England used it back in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, but even I don’t think they realize what it means. It’s mostly associated with secret societies and the like, but I’m guessing here Thor, and you can tell me if I’m wrong, but coteries usually had the power to change society around them, or at least influence and move society in a certain direction that they wanted. The sense I got from what I’ve read is that coteries are friends for life and their bonds never break. I’ve associated the word with a group of magic users since it’s mostly used in fantasy books now – very powerful magic users in fact.”

“That tries and change the world in those books?” Barton sounded a little thoughtful and Loki wondered if he too had read whatever had been in Rogers’ books and lore.

“So Loki and his coterie tried to change the world? Or at least Asgard society?” Stark sounded confused.

“…I…it is...”

Loki closed his eyes for a brief moment and inwardly shook his head. Thor was trying to make this too complicated when the answer was plain and simple. He set the last piece down, finished with his calibrations and touched his ear, deactivating the mute button, “Yes. And we failed.”

Touching the mute button again, he pulled the earpiece out and set it down on the table as he caught Banner staring at him, surprise evident on his face. Ignoring the look of open surprise, he instead, brought out the dagger that was encased in the protective modular barrier field and set it on the boye before reaching over and setting the silvalume in front of it.

A few seconds later Banner spoke up, still talking with the rest of the Avengers, “…Yeah, he’s taken the earpiece off. Its okay Thor, I know you tried your best, but just tell us, Jormungandr’s really here, right? I…I know, I also want to ask him, but do you really think your brother’s behind all of this if he’s so willing to help us? I mean, I don’t know what’s happened, but I do know that whatever’s between him and Jormungandr…yeah, I know…thanks…thanks for telling us this…”

There was a moment of silence as Loki cast his scanning spell to try to peel the layers off of barrier without compromising it and let the silvalume record its analysis. Thor’s words had dredged up memories he would have wanted to not remember, only dream in distant dreams. This whole fiasco with Jormungandr was making him feel more ill at ease than before, though not fearful as it had with Thanos. He heard Banner shuffling his feet before the scientist finally worked up the courage to speak.

“Thor was pretty quiet after what you said,” Banner said hesitantly, “and I’m sure the others want to ask him about it, but they’ve arrived at D.C. I’m not going to pry, Loki, but I just wanted to thank you.”

Loki all but ignored the doctor, not interested in platitudes or simpering pity that he supposed the mortals would all feel since Thor had tried to explain to them what Jormungandr was and what it meant to all of this. The only concern now was that Jormungandr had escaped and it was something that he needed to see to the end. That was what the coterie meant to him now – to see it to the end. He would prove to the Allfather that he had not betrayed the trust given to him in regards to Jormungandr’s escape.

“Also, thank you for explaining to me what the weaver does,” Loki looked up to see Banner rounding his workstation, pulling his earpiece out to show that he was not speaking into it and approached him with a serious look on his face.

“It is of no concern-“

“But it is, to me,” Banner stopped a few feet away and picked up two more vials of liquids that Loki did not recognize, “and even if you did try to confuse me with the words, you didn’t have to explain anything. You could have easily just left me wondering what it was.”

Loki frowned, wondering what Banner was getting at. At the same time, he also was a little perplexed by the fact that the scientist had clearly read his intent, even if he had been trying to confuse him.

“I’ll let you in on a trade secret,” Banner grinned sheepishly at him, “the…Other Guy…he kind of gives me an extra heightened sense of smell so uh…it’s kind of like a bullshit meter of sorts. Can smell out intentions and stuff…and also people if you really want to know about it.”

Loki blinked once, a little impressed that the mindless, or not-so-mindless green monster inhabiting the body of the mild-mannered scientist could easily read people with that kind of power. He had not thought of the intent in smell to be viable, but here was proof that Banner said otherwise. It certainly explained why Banner was so perceptive at times.

“I, uh, or rather the Other Guy kind of smelled how you were going to move and when you were at your most distracted before, um, smashing you into Tony’s penthouse during the battle of New York…”

Loki blinked before letting a rueful smirk appear on his face, even more impressed but curious as to why Banner was sharing this information so freely, “It seems I have under estimated you, Dr. Banner.”

Banner grinned, “Eh, call it a trade. Kind of find out about one of probably millions of secrets, you find out about one of mine. Equal trade, right?”

“Or not so equal,” Loki saw Banner laugh a little nervously before shaking his head and returning to his work station.

“We’ll get him, Loki. Barring that, I know you’ll get him,” Banner said as he immersed himself back into his work. Loki stared at the doctor for a long moment before returning to his work.

That in of itself was the truth. Jormungandr would be his and his alone; no one else would bear the responsibility. After all, he, Loki Odinson broke his own coterie.

* * *

**Author’s Notes:**

So yeah... _Thor: The Dark World_ …LOKI LOVE!!! <3 Lots and lots of love for him and Tom Hiddleston!!!! It’s also a little creepy that I managed to capture Loki’s “voice” in my first story verily like the movie – of course, didn’t quite capture the plot nor any other characters’ voices, except maybe Thor to a certain extent, but hey – win.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 6_

 

It was several hours later that Loki found himself with one hand hovered over the weaver, the other over the boye that now held one of the vials of blood, the one marked with Romanoff’s name. The contained dagger was back in the vacuum pocket of the spaces-in-between. The silvalume had proven fruitless, but not useless, in his initial efforts to strip the barrier without compromising the contained poison within. He would have fully cracked it open and put a mask on himself except he supposed SHIELD would not take too kindly to having a foreign contaminate within a room and possibility of having it spread from there.

There was also the possibility that even if he was able to sustain his own barrier to prevent himself from breathing in the fumes, he would have drained himself of his magicks far faster. On Asgard, the drain of his magicks would not have been as bad as it was on Midgard, but Loki had no intention of listening to the Court whispers and even feel the guards’ heavy looks at his attempts at ‘unnatural’ magicks. There was also the Allfather’s not-quite accusation or rather, indifference, that he did not want to face. Midgard, for all of its brief candled lives of mortals and inane idiocy, was the better place. Jormungandr had surely created a potent version, he was sure of it now as he manipulated the weaver with gentle strokes of magick from his fingertips.

“No, no luck yet. The extremis virus, even your modified version Tony isn’t working well with the poison within the blood…well, considering that I’ve got at least two vials of shattered glass all over my workstation…yeah, it’s doing that,” Banner murmured from his workstation and Loki briefly looked up from what he was doing to see the doctor gingerly step over the pile of shattered glass that had occurred only a couple of hours ago.

The doctor smiled quickly as he went about his work, still engaged in a conversation over the comm. with most likely Stark and the others as they scoured Washington D.C. for bodies along with containing those who had breathed the poison in after a few bodies were buried or burned. Loki had not bothered to put the earpiece back on after he had ended his conversation with the others, finding no use in listening to their banter. He suspected that the rest of the Avengers, except Thor, were more than happy to know he was not listening in – they would never be friends and even their alliance was a temporary measure.

The Avengers tolerated him and he tolerated them if only he knew that they needed him. It was amusing to note that while there was no outward hostility; everyone still seemed to consider him a threat. So he had spent the last few hours absently listening to Banner hold a one-way conversation with the others while he worked on his experiments and Loki tried different ways of stripping the magicks from the poison.

“No…I don’t think stripping the telomeres would do it any good, plus at that rate you would be changing the virus into its inert form…”

Loki tuned the doctor’s words out again as he twisted his fingers and tried to grasp the edges and wisp of magicks he could feel coating the blood in the vial. It was literally everywhere, a slippery feeling that he was trying to grasp with the barest of filaments. This poison was well-made and he was starting to get a little annoyed at how elusive it was.

He could see the strands, hovering just there, and reached out slowly to try to pull at it. It was almost alive, shying away if he had reacted too aggressively. His own shattered vial of Agent Ward’s blood had proven that, magicked away into a haphazard pile of glass and viscous liquid at the edge of the workstation. The skeins of magick were like the barest of threads, floating in the air, seemingly wrapping around the blood as it devoured it greedily. Loki recognized that those strands had been fine-woven, not from a silvalume, but by a master expert at weaving such poisonous magicks. His tessellation was of the same craft, but of different spellcasting, not woven, but made in a similar manner.

The last time such a thing had been done…it had taken days and even months to pry the magicks from within to create a cure for Thor. Loki knew that SHIELD would not take too kindly for him taking that long to extract the magicks, especially seeing Romanoff’s condition. Plus, it was more tightly woven than before. There was also the matter that while he had somewhat participated in the extraction process, he had mostly used it for his own purposes back then…and it was mainly Eir and the other healers, especially Erikur’s deceased sister, Hilde, a master poisoner, who had done a lot of the work.

Healing was never his forte, having really not put the effort into it, pursuing other interests of the magick arts under his teacher. His teacher had not been pleased, but neither had she been annoyed at his lack of effort, after all, she too cared not for the healing arts as much as seeing the last of life wither away and the souls transferred to the realm of the dead. He much preferred the spells of trickery and of discovery and the one thing he had prided himself on was the ability to weave and unweave the complexities of spells within. It was what made him able to cross the shadows of Yggdrasil, to do what he did…even if his magicks were uniquely own as Helblindi had said.

Grinding his teeth in slight frustration, he set the spell down and saw the vial return to its normal, slightly congealed state of dark red, the blood no longer emitting a glow of sorts as he tried to separate the strands. This was proving ineffective, as he rubbed his eyes absently, his lids feeling like sandpaper over his eyes. He had been concentrating to the point where he knew he need to stare at something else, if only for a matter of minutes.

He reached over and grabbed one of the healing stones that spilled out from where he had placed the medium sized bag on his workstation. Rubbing it across his fingers, he could feel the shiver of magicks hidden within, waiting to be crushed and released. The stone itself was made of pumice from Muspelheim; light, but porous, easily crushed yet sturdy enough to be carried around the battlefield in warriors’ pouches.

He rolled it in between his fingers once more before crushing it, releasing the magicks into his hand as he felt the grainy bits dig into his palm. He could feel the swirl of magicks within, ready to do their work, to be directed to heal whatever needed to be healed.

Instead, he opened his palm and grasped the skeins of magick with his other hand and began to build a modular, his fingers flicking this way and that, the familiarity of building such spellwork already easing his mind and brushing away the frustration of trying to unravel the spellwork in the vial of blood. It was a fold here, tuck there, then flip for another fold before reversing the fold-

“…Yeah, this isn’t working,” Banner’s comment cut through Loki’s thoughts as he looked up to see the doctor taking his glasses off and rubbing his own eyes, clearly frustrated with his own results. “Yeah…I tried that Tony…that too…yeah, maybe...hang on Tony, lemme ask Fury a question.” He swiped something across his touch screen and Fury's face popped up in a small corner.

“Doctor, what can I do for you?” Fury sounded congenial, but Loki was well aware that he was anything but and perhaps more like his name suggested at times.

“Has there been any facial recognition on the guy we think is Jormungandr in the past few days?”

“None that we know of,” Fury replied, “we've got some hits, but nothing as blatant as Stuttgart a year or so ago.”

“Loki, could Jormungandr have gone underground? Er, I mean, could he have gone into hiding after we discovered him in D.C.?”

Loki looked up from his modular, wondering what Banner was getting at. He sensed no hostility or anything remiss about the question and shrugged, “If you had discovered his base it was because he wanted you to-”

“Now wait just a minute. We had agents who risked their lives and even died for the intel we got-”

“Jormungandr could have easily concealed his location with simple spells. He allowed you to find his base,” it was stretching the truth since he knew full well that Jormungandr's skills were at best meager when it came to illusions, but seeing Fury turn a little shade darker in anger at his words seemed worth it. “He would have never shown his hand unless he was ready.”

“So he probably isn't in hiding, right?” Banner asked and Loki shrugged again, “I'll take that as a yes...”

“What are you getting at Doctor?” Fury asked.

“I was thinking that maybe we're going about this the wrong way. Instead of creating a cure for the poison, maybe we should treat it like venom and anti-venom. Since Jormungandr was known as the Midgard Serpent and more than likely was depicted as a gigantic snake in Norse myths, he could conceivably have venom of a sort as the basis for his poison. There are different kinds of toxins in venom, but Steve said that he witnessed at least some kind of dissolving agent, which makes me think it could be a corrosive type of neurotoxin.”

“Weaponized as an aerosol form from the grenades?” Fury asked, a frown on his face as he digested the information Banner was saying.

“It makes sense, but then again, there are other factors that makes it a variable,” Banner smile grimly, “I've started to run tests to weed out the type of corrosive used, but preliminary results look likes it's like a bad combination of all of the world's deadliest snakes, especially sea snakes.”

“Captain Rogers did say that the Midgard Serpent's lair was the whole of the Earth, so he could be a form of a sea snake,” Fury shook his head, “I'll put in some calls to the CDC and WHO for their stocks of anti-venom and also any neurotoxins they have.”

“That could be a start. I would like, however, a chance to at least try to somehow extract the toxin from Jormungandr himself,” Banner looked pensive and out of the corner of Loki's eye, he saw Fury's face twist into something in between half of a laugh and incredulity.

“Uh...Doctor, you do know that he was human last we saw-”

“He _was_ forced into the form of a serpent by the Allfather,” Loki interjected dryly and saw both Banner and Fury start as he continued to build his modular.

“He can change at will?” the Director of SHIELD did not look happy at the news.

“If he wishes,” Loki flipped to a new edge and started to weave the skeins of magick on that side, “but one would think that being stuck in a form that is not of one's choosing for such a long time that he would avoid it at all costs.”

“So how does he have access to the poison in the grenades?”

“He does have a humanoid form,” sometimes Loki wondered what his brother saw in the mortals. Their attention and memory spans were like that of gnats.

“Oh, wait, he can carry it on himself, probably like how you carry the stuff in some kind of invisible bag right? I mean, I didn't see you with the weaver and sil-uh-that thing there until you started to take them out,” Banner looked a little sheepish at not figuring out what had been in front of him until prompted.

“All healers would know the antidote to the poisons they've created. Many of them are petty enough to cure themselves should any seek to harm them,” he said, adding silently that those that did not usually were not really good healers and thus died in the process of crafting their art and skill.

“I'm guessing your coterie isn't the kind to keep the secrets on themselves are they?” Fury asked and even though his face was on Banner's screen, Loki knew that the question had been directed at him. He also realized that he had forgotten that Fury would have been listening into the previous conversation Thor had with the Avengers as they flew towards Washington D.C. The Director was perhaps a little more like Odin than Loki had realized, gleaning information in silence much like the Allfather had Huugin and Muugin for.

“The torture you could claim to inflict upon them would be negligible, especially for someone well-versed in the healing arts as Jormungandr,” he finished his skein and moved onto the next piece.

“We could give him to you,” Fury's face suddenly popped up on the screen next to his workstation and Loki stilled, a chill washing over him. There was no way that the mortal knew- Before he realized that it had been a test and chuckled lightly. The mortal was very clever and in a sense, very much like the Allfather in this case.

“And why would you give him to me? Perhaps I had a hand in his escape-”

“Or we can just give him to Thor to take back to the Allfather since you probably had a hand in his escape-”

“Giving him to Thor would only make him insufferable and sentimental to the point where he would attempt to _spare_ me the pain of seeing a member of my coterie punished once more,” he muttered mostly under his breath before turning to stare at Fury's lone eye, “yes, let's all give the poisoner to Thor who would follow the Allfather's orders to take him back _before you get your chance to inflict your punishment_.”

“He did promise-”

“Thor makes promises he usually never keeps,” the retort fell from his lips before he could stop it, but realized that it was true. His brother's promises to him through the many, many years had been broken time and time again. He had taken it in stride back then, the conquering hero who felled this beast or had slain that menace. Promises made were broken to either save or to hurt enemies...and even the Allfather had broken his most recent promise – that Thanos could not have him. It had only been his own doing that had spurred everyone to put Thanos away.

Thor had promised to stand by him when Thanos came, but he had been called to T ønsberg and thus had not been there when the portals opened on the Helicarrier. That in so many strings of broken promises...

“We give him to you then,” Fury had an unreadable expression on his face, but Loki could feel the beginnings of the geas magick humming in the air and smiled a little, “in exchange for the cure.”

“Is this a deal, Director?”

“You said so yourself, no deals, just a vested interest in Jormungandr when you first arrived on the Helicarrier. Do you _want_ it to be a deal?”

It was a little hard to keep the rueful smile off of his face, but Loki managed to. It seemed Fury had learned a little more about the fine art of negotiation since they had made the geas-contract a little over a year ago regarding the barrier and Chitauri. “And Thor?”

“Not part of this deal. This is between you and me and what we each can deliver to the other,” Fury said and Loki tilted his head a little.

“I cannot deliver the cure as a whole to you,” he said, but held up a finger to forestall the protest on Fury's lips, “I can deliver the means for it providing Dr. Banner's theory regarding anti-venom is correct.”

“All right,” Fury acquiesced with a nod of his head, “suppose it won't do any good for you to drop dead from the contract by asking for the whole cure. Might do us a whole lot of good, but I don't want an angry blond Asgardian wrecking the Earth because this geas was screwed up.”

“How thoughtful,” Loki replied dryly, “are we in accord?”

“We are,” Fury replied before he braced himself and Loki reached out and _plucked_ the geas from him mixing it with his own magicks, feeling its warmth and the hint of playfulness that he had never felt in a long time from such a thing. It felt oddly compliant and Loki pocked it gently within him. This was a special promise, he could feel it. It was a promise that he knew he would enjoy.

Looking back up at Fury, he saw the man rub his chest in slight discomfort, but otherwise did not seem affected by the geas as he had last time. Then again, he had negotiated by himself instead of for the whole of Midgard.

“Ow,” Loki looked towards Banner to see him pull the earpiece out of his ear before shaking his head and sticking his finger into his ear to briefly clear it. The doctor looked at him and grinned sheepishly, “Thor's kind of angry...”

Loki only rolled his eyes as he realized that while Banner must have set his comm. on mute, Fury had no compunctions of doing the same and had probably broadcast their negotiations to the rest of the Avengers. But what was done was done and there was nothing Thor could do about it.

“The CDC and WHO just said that they are sending vials of anti-venom, that they know of, but they don't have much on sea snakes. Maybe one or two of their venom, but not enough for anti-venom,” Fury spoke up again before he frowned as he looked out of the frame for a few seconds. “We've just gotten reports that London may be under attack as is Rotterdam. Eyewitness and news reports are calling it a chemical gas attack...”

Loki saw Banner hastily shove his earpiece back in and he reluctantly picked up his own and put it back in in time to hear the latter half of Rogers' question.

“-reports of hissing sounds and anyone look like their blood dissolved?” the soldier sounded calm in asking his questions, but Loki noted that he also sounded a bit breathless. He wondered if the poison was starting to affect the soldier or if he had been doing a lot of strenuous activities. He considered it the former rather than the latter due to the fact that he had seen him fight without even sounding winded.

Fury had paused for a second, before shaking his head, “Unknown Captain. Both cities have scheduled protests today, but there is a lot of chaos there.”

“Loki, which one would Jormungandr conceivably hit?” Banner suddenly flicked his finger and Loki glanced at his screen as he set down his modular and saw that Banner had sent him a map with the two cities in question highlighted. He pursed his lips and stared at the maps.

“London's protest is scheduled to go along the Thames, probably starting from Trafalgar Square which is more inland. Rotterdam's protest is all along the waterfront.”

“London then,” Loki tapped on the maps, getting a closer view. He was pretty sure that London was where Jormungandr would want to make his target, after all, it was the capital of the country called England while Rotterdam was not, even though it was next to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He remembered what Barton had told him about the governments and the countries on Midgard. Judging by the fact that Jormungandr had built his base in the United States' capitol city it established the link that he knew he was rebelling against an established government and attacking such institutions. If he had to place an attack on Asgard by Jormungandr, it would be the palace itself in relation to Washington D.C. and London.

“Want to elaborate?” Fury asked as Loki heard the others call out orders, Rogers relaying the order for them to fly to London with all haste. They must have finished in D.C. if they were heading up into the air. “Coulson, I'm pulling your team from the Phase Two HYDRA case to head to Rotterdam. Masks are required and you're in charge of the ground forces. Team Two and Delta will be joining you groundside.”

“Water naturally dilutes an aerosol poison,” Loki shrugged, “it would seem prudent for him to avoid water in his condition.”

“Condition?”

“If he has taken great pains to avoid his other form, then he would avoid water,” Loki said before Banner nodded.

“Good point. Probably reminds him too much of his imprisonment and everything,” he murmured.

“We could spray him with water like telling a cat not to go on certain furniture,” Stark muttered over the comm. and Banner laughed lightly.

“I don't think it's that easy,” he replied, “but a good idea if we need to contain him or something. Just herd him towards the water and hope we don't get gassed in the process.”

“All right, so he could be there which means I'm sending Barton and you, Loki-”

“I do not answer to you,” Loki stared at the Director who frowned.

“I thought you wanted him as part of the contract-”

“Actually, can I go Director Fury? I mean, if Barton doesn't mind flying me there. It may be easier for me to get the venom, or at least try to persuade Jormungandr to give me the venom if I'm there.”

Loki turned to stare at Banner as Fury also fell silent. He could see the doctor scratching the back of his head as they all realized what he was saying. As the giant green monster, he would certainly be able to withstand and perhaps even get close enough to Jormungandr; something no one else would be able to. He had already proven to the others that bullets did not affect him nor did the weapons the Chitauri used. Spells also had no effect judging by the stories told during the feasts in the aftermath of the battle against Thanos.

He saw Fury evaluating Banner's request and already knew the answer that would be given. Even though Fury had made the contract with him, he would also take any opportunity to make sure that Jormungandr would be punished according to Midgard's laws before handing him over. And Banner ensured that at least. “All right...Barton, suit up and keep an eye on the good doctor when you're groundside.”

“We should be there about half-an-hour after you hit groundside,” Rogers' voice spoke over the comm. and Loki realized that they were closer to London than the team in Washington D.C.

“Roger that,” Barton's voice was crisp and for a moment Loki wondered why the archer was not with the Avengers in D.C. Before he realized that Barton had stayed next to Romanoff the whole time. The sentiment there was strong and he wondered what would Romanoff make of such undying loyalty from a man who had saved her in Saó Paulo. She called love childish, but what would she call this?

“I'll meet you at the quinjet. Just gotta get a few things,” Banner touched his ear before gathering a few vials and tying them off with a kind of filmy paper and rubber bands before placing them in a small bag. He looked up as he headed out of the door and grinned a little, “I guess we can put the smelling theory to test right?”

“We could,” he acknowledged before the scientist left, leaving him alone. He picked up the modular once again and continued to work on its weaves.

* * *

Thor felled another HYDRA soldier with a bolt of lightning as he threw Mjolnir towards one that had been looking to shoot the man of iron out of the sky. Summoning his hammer back to him, he looked about the plaza that was now rubble, smoke and debris, but with no other sign of Jormungandr. About twenty had passed since they had landed in London.

“Well, at least they're HYDRA,” Tony Stark's voice echoed in his ear as he took out several more soldiers before flying higher to avoid their weaponry.

“Are you sure Loki's gotten the place right? Maybe he's in Rotterdam?” Captain Rogers asked as he blocked several bullets with his shield and knocked down a soldier that had ran at him with a war cry.

“Loki, I know you are listening,” Thor started as he spoke into the delicate looking earpiece, “there has been no sign of Jormungandr in the twenty minutes we have been here.”

There was the barest of clicks before his brother's droll voice came over the comm., “Maybe because you have electrocuted everything in your path with Mjolnir.”

“This is not a jest, Loki-”

“Of course it is not. You would not know one if it hit you in the head,” he bit his lip as he cleared a wide swath in Trafalgar Square with a stream of lightning. There were so many things he knew he could say to Loki, but he did not want to engage in a petty spat with his brother at the moment, not after what he had told the team.

He knew his stubborn brother was once again rejecting his words, as if he could cocoon himself in the indifference of what the mortals thought of him again. He had seen it happen during the first time they had arrived on Midgard after fighting the Chitauri and had thought it a defensive mechanism against Thanos. But this recent effort told him that Loki was affected by the mortals' opinion of him and of his actions, even if he tried hard not to show it – it was not all of the mortals though, just a select few.

His brother thought of affection and kinship as a weakness. But judging by his actions in a more semi-private setting on Asgard, especially whenever the Courts or anyone else was not around, save for the palace guards; he would acknowledge him in a somewhat distant affectionate manner. It was only in front of the Court, in front of the Allfather, even in front of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, he would close himself off and not let anyone see him.

Thor had his suspicions about why his brother was acting in such a manner, but he dared not voice it. Not only for the scorn that he knew he would receive from Loki, but also because it was something he had long decided was personal for his brother. He instead, tried to show his support by being there for him, or at least attempting to show he was there for him – it was all very circular and very hard, especially when Loki outright rejected his attempts for brotherly affection.

This latest business with Jormungandr and the soon-to-be-questioning of Lady Hel if General Tyr and Archmage Erikur found her in her realm, was putting a new strain upon Loki that Thor did not want to see his brother dealing with. He did not know many of the details surrounding Loki's former coterie, but the fact that his brother was making a renewed effort to see Jormungandr worried him. He wanted to believe that Loki was not involved in Jormungandr's escape and attack of Earth, but at the same time he could not deny that his brother's coterie had been powerful and had powerful bonds with each other.

If one had to look at it, his brother's coterie was perhaps akin to his friendship and everlasting loyalty to the Warriors Three and Lady Sif – and that was what worried Thor the most. Loyalty like that...it made his brother teeter on the edges of what he perceived to be madness and what he perceived to be righteousness. The only thing was certain was that Loki had been the one to end his own coterie – but the reason being had never been given to Thor. The Allfather and even the Allmother had never spoken about it and the Warriors themselves did not know of what transpired.

He had woken from the blood-poison and had found out that the coterie had been broken and its members supposedly imprisoned. He had even demanded that Loki had tell him what happened, of what great battles had been fought and by whom, but his brother had been uncharacteristically quiet and had all but refused to tell him anything, even after threatening him.

The threatening part, in hindsight, was probably not the best, but Thor knew that a lot of his own actions towards his brother could be seen in both light. He had wanted to help his brother, had wanted to tell him that it was a good fight, had wanted to help him move past his coterie, but had not known how.

But now, he wondered if his brother had deliberately broken the coterie only to reform it starting with Jormungandr's escape. He had all but admitted that the original plot of the coterie had been to change Asgard society. Perhaps more than likely to force the Aesir to acknowledge magicks and instead of whispering it as they always did, and they had failed – which only meant one thing, that they had tried to take the throne for themselves. It was the only explanation since to ensure an acceptance, it would have been part of the Allfather's decrees. But what did it mean in the aftermath of their failure?

It would be like Loki to have a scheme of sorts plotted for so long, but to what end? Was it for the throne of Asgard? To extract his revenge against the mortals for his defeat? But that possibility was highly unlikely considering his involvement with Thanos. But then again, Odin Allfather had said that Loki knew, on some level, of what he had been dealing with when he met with Thanos. That he had inadvertently or perhaps unconsciously planned it. Did that mean his brother was potentially controlled by means of a geas? But if so, whom and why? That seemed implausible at best, and Thor knew that his brother would never allow himself to be under a geas that he himself did not contract. He liked having a measure of manipulative control...it was his nature and it had taken Thor a while to figure that out.

“Loki-” he gritted his teeth and was about to refrain from demanding that his brother tell him the truth when he suddenly heard it. It was a whisper in his ear, but chilled his heart considerably...

_Hereinthedarknessonecanplayuntilthereisnomorelifeleft_

“Holy shit did anyone else feel that?!” Barton's curse echoed in his ear as Thor saw the HYDRA soldiers back away, diving into cover as the Avengers gathered around.

_Lifeisbutabriefcandlesoluminousandeasilyextinguished_

“There is a portal,” he scanned the battlefield for any telltale sign of a portal into the shadows of Yggdrasil, feeling the chill of its magical signature puckering over his skin. Ever since the battle against Thanos or perhaps it was because he had traveled the shadows with Loki from Jotunheim to Midgard, he could feel something different whenever a portal was opened. It wasn't as keen as feeling the signature of the poison on the grenades that Jormungandr used, but it was nonetheless like a feathered touch against his skin and ear.

_Willyoucomeoutandplaywithyourlifetobeextinguished_

“Doc...” Rogers' voice sounded exhausted and Thor looked over to see the soldier nearly holding himself up with his shield. He frowned; the poison must be doing its deadly work now. They had all thought that Rogers was exhausted after digging up the bodies of those slain in Washington D.C. The man of iron had also been panting with exhaustion, but now, it seemed like it was the poison doing its work.

“The Other Guy's really nervous,” Banner's voice was strained as he stood near Barton, hiding behind a pile of rubble and concrete barricade.

_Playwithmeplaywithmeplaywithme_

Then all was silenced as a few feet away, as she seemingly appeared in thin air. A blue line of fire was traced from her finger as she sealed up the portal, but Thor was not staring at the magicks she wielded. It was a two-pronged attack...and for her to be here...

“Hello my Crown Prince Thor,” she greeted, her voice listless, seemingly dead, but the half-formed smile on her face was anything but dead. Her strawberry-blonde hair were in ringlets instead of the bun he had seen her last. They cascaded down to the small of her back, a stark contrast against the formless dress she wore. From his vantage point, he would have thought the dress was made out of the literal souls of the damned.

She wore a pair of glasses, much like the ones the mortals wore, but Thor knew that they were not like the mortals' glasses. His basic knowledge of magicks was limited by how much Loki had told him whenever he thought him not paying attention. Thus he had known that his brother preferred glaives, staffs, or spears as a focuser of his magicks along with the daggers he carried upon himself. From what he knew, focusers helped channel magicks into a more potent form, or at least prevented the mana pool within each user from draining so rapidly.

The innocuous glasses perched on her nose were her focuser and they served to sharpen her vision from whence her magicks manifested; after all, she was the Queen of Helheim, queen of the realm of the dead.

“Lady Hel,” Thor greeted warily.

* * *

Loki stilled, his modular falling from his hands and landing on his workstation, as he heard Thor's quiet greeting to Hel. He silently cursed as he realized what Hel's appearance meant. She would not have arrived if she was not sure- He cut his thought off as he made to open a portal into the shadows of Yggdrasil and walk to London. It would be risky since he did not have a vantage point except for the ground level image that he had seen on the map. Risky in of itself because he could conceivably walk into the heart of a star if he had not known where he was walking to. Images were hard to process, especially regarding Midgard. When he had learned the art of walking the shadows, his teacher had taken him throughout the realms, but had cautioned that the mortals, with their brief lifespans would change the face of their planet so many times that even he would not be able to walk it without having a point of reference. Other realms did not suffer the same problems as readily as Midgard.

The tingle of magicks was on the tip of his fingers before the door to the room opened and the female agent named Hill walked in, blinking as she stared at him.

“Uh...where are you going?”

“London,” he was glad that he had muted his comm. line after Thor had accused him of trying to jest when things were serious.

“I can't...” Hill grimaced as she changed tactics and words, “actually we kind of need you in the hanger bay. There's a...situation going on...”

“I am sure your agents are well versed in dealing with it-”

“Actually...there's four people asking for you. One of the techs reported a Bifrost sign, and I think they're Asgardian judging by their armor and weaponry, but...”

Loki closed his eyes briefly as he had a feeling about who had arrived on the Helicarrier. The fact that they had asked him by name and with Hel's appearance in London could only mean one thing. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. He could easily open a portal to London now and ignore the Bifrost's arrival, but at the same time, it would also cause complications if Heimdall saw him and used the change to open the Bifrost while he was not under cover.

Brushing past Agent Hill, he stalked down towards the hanger bay and saw many armed SHIELD personnel standing at the ready, some of whom were pointing their guns at the four who arrived. The four themselves were openly showing their weapons, but made no move or any indication that they were hostile.

“Ah, there he is,” Faendral's voice carried across the edge of the hanger bay as Loki rounded the back of a quinjet parked in between him and the group of four.

“Prince Loki Odinson,” Sif stepped forward, her double-bladed sword held by her side, “by the order of Odin Allfather, you are under arrest for treason against Asgard for the release of the three traitors, Jormungandr, Hel, and Fenrir.

“Surrender yourself to face the consequences of your actions.”

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I know Hel in the comics is depicted as half-dead half-alive, but in this case, I decided to take her appearance from a Japanese anime that I had seen a while ago. Again, this story is twisting up the characters from the myths and is only based on the Marvel movie-verse. And Loki is a bit more...politically scheming (and perhaps more like  _Thor: The Dark World_ schemer this time around instead of the angry ball of hate he was in  _Atonement._

 


	7. Chapter 7

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 7_

 

“Lady Hel,” Thor greeted warily, Mjolnir crackling with unspent and unsteady magicks in his hand. The magicks were unsteady due to the presence of the Queen of the Realm of the Dead. She was never addressed as Queen, seeing that there was only one ruling Queen and it was the Allmother Frigga. Instead, throughout the realms, a ruling female was always addressed with the proper title of Lady. Sif had earned her Lady title by being the 'queen' of all the Asgardian warriors, besting many of them in single combat.

“I've got a clear shot- shit!” Thor looked up to see the man of iron suddenly fall, the repulsors keeping him aloft dying in an abrupt sputter of light. He crashed to the ground with a loud metallic crunch and a pained groan.

“Stark!” Rogers' tried to move to help his friend up when he froze in place, seemingly entrapped in a crackling forcefield of sorts.

At about the same time, Thor saw the tell-tale black blur of an arrow being shot at Hel before it was stopped mid-air as she all but glanced at it. Seemingly oblivious to anything else, she held up he other hand before Thor could even launch a bolt of lightning against her and he found himself frozen, Mjolnir half-drawn, unable to move even an inch. He could hear and  _see_ the crackling of magicks that held him in place and tried to fight against it. He tried to push at it, but hissed in pain as his forearm came in contact with the barrier.

“I can't move!” Barton called over the comm.

“I...I can't feel the Other Guy...” Banner sounded breathless, a half hopeful, half fearful tone in his voice, “oh...wait, I feel him...holy shit, what the hell...she put him to sleep?!”

It was as if he had been entrapped in Thanos' immobile spell once more, like what had happened on the Bifrost a little over a year ago. He fought against the magicks, but only served to burn welts on his bare arms and knuckles.

“Please do not fight. I wish not to hurt you,” Hel turned to look at him and Thor was struck at how _empty_ her eyes were.

“She's got the same magicks as Thanos?!” Stark asked as he managed to pull himself up, but he sounded pained. However as soon as he was in a crouching position, there was the sound of screeching metal and out of the corner of his eye, Thor saw that he was unable to move anymore.

“Sure as hell feels like it, ow!” Barton had tried to draw another arrow, his hands held immobile when he had released the arrow in his bow seconds earlier.

Thor was shocked at how fast things had moved, and how  _powerless_ they all were. The Lady Hel he knew would never do such a thing.

“Then you do not know me as well as you should, Crown Prince,” Hel addressed him and Thor frowned, knowing that he had _not_ voiced his silent question until she seemingly smiled her dead smile at him. “I have had this power for a very, very long time. And to entrap your mortal friends is much easier. In fact, I am directing most of my energies at you. Mjolnir is a curious weapon to entrap, but since it is in your hands, it makes my spellcasting much easier.”

She directed her dead-eyed gaze to all of them, her glasses flashing a little against the bright sunlight pouring through the smoke and destruction that littered Trafalgar Square. “Again, I ask you do not fight.”

“Well, we ain't surrendering so easily if that's what you're wondering about, lady!” Barton snarled.

“I merely wish to be the deliverer,” there had been only twice that Thor had ever seen the Queen of the dead; once when he was but a young boy, the other time was during Loki's coterie days. Both times he vaguely remembered her with a regal, if chilling sounding voice. Now was no different, and he shuddered a little at the imperious command of her tone.

“If you think you have defeated us-”

“Still the same after all these hundreds of years, Crown Prince,” Hel looked at him again and shook her head, her strawberry-blonde ringlets swishing back and forth as she suddenly laughed, a light airy one if it was not for the wailing of dead souls in her laugh. “Does this bravado not tire you out, milord? Declarations of warriors who would stand in your place should you fall on this day? It is a wonder that the House of Odin still stands to this day.”

“I will not-”

“Well, perhaps it has only stood because of at least one clever Prince amongst the warrior-happy ones...” she seemingly murmured to herself, but Thor tensed. He knew exactly who she was talking about and the thought that perhaps Loki had freed her and Jormungandr from their imprisonment briefly flitted through his mind before he discarded it just as quickly. Loki would never-

“Yet he would, would he not?” Hel stared at him again, tilting her head to the side as she asked her rhetorical question. “The things shown to him while he was in the abyss, of what Thanos gleaned from him and put upon him in return for the Tesseract,” she blinked, “you think of my words to divide the kinship between the two of you, do you not?”

“Loki would never-” this time Thor voiced the thought that had been within him since her arrival. “You seek to divide us!”

“But why would I?” for a moment he was struck at how alike her words were to Loki's that had only fallen in similar manner from his lips a little over a year ago. It was easy to see where Loki had perhaps developed his resentment from, the little seeds planted so long ago that Thor was struck at how _inadequate_ and _unobservant_ he had been for so long. He shook his head, the tips of his hair crackling and burning against the forcefield holding him in place.

“You lie-”

“I merely know the truth from the tales spoken from the dead. I have no reason to lie when all of those who enter my realm have reached the ultimate truth,” she said in a simple tone and he loathed to agree with her.

She was the guardian of the realm of the dead and thus spoke a certain truth. Those who died, even with regrets, died knowing that their lies and truth could not be spoken anymore. He wondered if in that brief moment of death that his brother had achieved, had he spoken to Lady Hel? Is that where he had sought to free her, perhaps knowing that King Helblindi would revive him? But that was impossible and implausible. Loki could not have known that more than he, that much he was certain of. Even he had been shocked at his revival by the Casket of Ancient Winters-

Thor's thoughts screeched to a halt as he realized that Lady Hel had been telling the truth, and in that truth had also weaved her most powerful magicks. Loki had his words as the Silvertongue, but they contained no magicks, relying purely on the manipulation of things spoken and assumptions within a person's mind. He read the truth, falsehoods, and bent them to his will by sheer words alone.

Lady Hel wove magicks into her words, the subtle magicks of manipulation of not the mind, but the heart. As death was to life, so was love to hatred. It was truth that she gleaned the words from those who passed through her realm, but she also wove their souls and magicks to speak to those who were alive. And the only reason why he knew this was because of the thousand or so years of being with Loki that he understood on some level, his clever words,  _hearing_ the difference.

His resistance must have shown on his face as her smile widened a fraction and she tapped her lip, “At least the years of being next to the clever Prince has not addled your wits, milord.”

“What do you want?” Thor was tired of her idle talk, “if you wish to hold us here while Jormungandr-”

“That is my intention,” her dead smile disappeared from her lips as she tilted her head and had a faraway gaze in her eyes, “but it seems that his phobia of water has gotten to him. He is not putting up an effective resistance against Agent Coulson or his team...” She suddenly waved her other hand, her fingers flicking this way and that before Thor saw various portals open, the whispers all converging and overriding each other, a cacaphony of _noise_ that sounded like the wailing of the damned-

And just like that, with another blue-glowing flick of her fingers, the portals closed and the HYDRA soldiers that had been behind their barriers all but gone.

“That should at least bolster some resistance before I go to him-”

“You will not leave-”

She threw him a withering look, so eerily like Loki's that Thor wondered who had learned from whom in those years. Certainly it had to have been Hel learning from Loki, as he remembered his brother's scowl from their younger years, but then again, Hel was the ruler of the realm of the dead and far, far older. Perhaps Loki had met Hel and it was the start of the coterie? He shook his head inwardly, these were questions not for now, but to ask his brother later, especially now with Hel's clear involvement in Jormungandr's affairs.

“Come now, you are all trapped, unless you would all like to suffer burns-”

“Heimdall-”

“Cannot see me, milord,” Hel's dead smile was back, “and in such an open battlefield as this, I do not believe he would risk transporting me to Asgard in such a manner. I am still afforded the rights of a dignitary-”

“You are afforded no rights based on your actions here!”

“Entrapping these candle-flamed mortals? Stopping HYDRA's soldiers from attacking you? There are many who would see this as a divine intervention or at least preventing more senseless deaths on both sides.”

“You sent them to Rotterdam-”

“You do not know where I have sent them-”

“You said they would help Jormungandr against the son of Coul and his team-”

She shook her head and laughed, sending an involuntary shudder up Thor's spine as her glasses flashed once against the smoky sunlight, “You want to believe the words coming out of my mouth, out of the magicks that I weave, so badly you would believe it in your heart as so.”

There was the sound of something stumbling against rocks before Thor turned his head, the crackle of the tips of his hair burning against the forcefield that held him in place. He saw Dr. Banner lean against the rubble pile he had been hiding behind, freed from the magick prisons they were all held in.

“I...I can't get the Other Guy to wake up,” Banner looked at them, his expression warring between sheepishness and being terrified. Thor did not know what would happen if Hel decided to attack the good doctor with the Hulk seemingly suppressed within him.

It was also a second later that he realized there were no forthcoming words of encouragement or an order by Captain Rogers to flee the area and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the good Captain trying to say words, but no sound would come out.

Thor opened his mouth to tell the doctor to flee while he could, but even as he spoke the first word, he could not feel his vocal chords vibrating and realized that whatever spell Hel had used, it had initially allowed him to communicate with her, but that he had been the only one to do so in that time. Now, it seemed that he had been rendered mute while Dr. Banner was able to speak.

“Dr. Banner,” Hel seemingly glided over the rubble to stop in front of the doctor who did not run as was probably the most prudent thing, but rather drew himself up and stood firm. His lips were pressed together, tight with fear, but Thor also saw the courage that allowed him to face his hardships against those who tormented him. He would not be cowed by the Queen of the Realm of the Dead.

“No, no, good doctor, it is not your time yet,” Hel most likely read an unspoken thought from him as she shook her head and smiled at him. For a second Thor thought he saw the genuine smile from her lips, but realized he was mistaken as the smile looked like her deathly one.

“You are so brave,” she stretched out her hand towards his face, but stopped only inches away from his skin, caressing the air in between, “kind, understanding...with a heart...tormented much like him. You remind me of ways like him, foolishly brave, foolishly noble, foolishly doing what would end up breaking him in the long run. Yet...perhaps it is just a facet of the brief candles of lives you all have...”

She withdrew her hand into the folds of her dress, “I look forward to the day I greet you in the gates to Helheim. Valhalla may be closed to you, but you will have a spot of kindness on that day.”

“You're going to greet me soon?” Thor marveled at how calm the doctor sounded, yet at the same time how on edge and realized that it was true, even if the monstrous green giant known as the Hulk was contained, the doctor was always angry. He always sought to suppress that anger in a calm facade that belied the truth of his feelings.

“No,” Hel drew out her hand again and in it held a bulbous container of sorts, the cork stoppered tightly into the small potion-like bottle. It rose into the air, floating inches above her palm before it traveled over to the doctor, who instinctively cupped his where it dropped neatly into it.

“What-”

“It is what you seek,” she said neutrally, “Loki would know what to do with it.”

“Loki-”

Thor suddenly stumbled and nearly fell to the ground if not for Mjolnir's crackling discharge that made him straighten as the forcefield magicks all but disappeared. At the same time, he heard Hel's laugh as if it was floating on the wind. He turned to see where she had gone, but knew that it was fruitless-

“Doc! Get away!” Thor turned to see Rogers sprinting towards the doctor before all but shoving him back over the pile of rubble as he threw his shield towards the ground. Thor hear the ping of something bouncing off of the shield before it traveled high into the air where it promptly exploded.

He ducked, holding Mjolnir high to protect himself as he heard the hissing of gases being released above and realized that the Captain had saved them all by virtue of recovering faster than any of them from the release of the spell.

“I'm not getting any particulates raining down- Cap! Steve!” the man of iron's voice turned frantic and Thor lowered his arm to see Rogers go down on one knee, his face greying terribly before he collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap.

“Steve! Captain Rogers!” Banner and Barton both called out at the same time as they leapt towards the fallen soldier and Thor hurried over, wondering what he could do.

“Steve, come on,” Stark had already landed next to the fallen soldier and was cradling his head, “come on buddy. Don't die on me...”

“Hah...” Rogers' blue eyes were bright against his grey face as he choked a breath, “not gonna die right now...but I don't feel so well...”

“You could have saved your energy-”

“I knew...she was going...to...t-try something...l-like that,” Rogers smiled a little, his lips thin and stretched tight, “in the m-myths...s-she was L-Loki's daughter...g-gotta have a bit...of the T-Trickster God in y-you...r-right?”

“Thank you, Cap...I...just...rest now, okay? You'll be back to normal in no time,” Banner had knelt down next to Stark and was grimacing as Rogers nodded before looking at all of them as if he wanted to desperately memorize their faces one last time before his eyes slid shut.

Thor felt like someone was squeezing his heart too tight as he had recognized what Rogers had done. He had seen it on the faces of warriors who had fallen in battle, but had still been alive when they were carried off to the healing halls. They had looked into the faces of their trusted companions, hoping that their faces were not the last time they would see them and that they would wake beside the warrior when he recovered. Many times, most of those warriors died...

“Director, Captain Rogers is down...No, not deceased, but the poison's got him,” Barton stood up and moved away from the small group, his hand touching his ear as he stared up in the sky. Thor noted that the normally stoic archer's eyes were blinking rapidly before he seemingly regained his composure and turned back to them. Or more specifically, Barton was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Roger that...I...will let him know sir...yes, sir. Understood, sir. Barton out.”

Barton's lips compressed into a thin line before he opened his mouth and then closed it, his brow furrowing. He opened his mouth again and said in a tight voice, “There are four Asgardians on the Helicarrier right now. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three was how they introduced-”

Thor swore as he realized what Lady Sif and the Warriors Three's presence meant on the Helicarrier. They were not there for idle moments or anything of that sort, they were on Earth for the sole purpose of bringing Loki back to Asgard to answer the Allfather's summons.

Which meant that Loki had freed Jormungandr, Lady Hel, and probably the others of his coterie from their prison. He did not hesitate as he immediately held Mjolnir aloft and flew back towards the Helicarrier.

* * *

Loki kept his hands to his side, presenting a non-threatening target as much as possible, as he looked at Sif. It was not that he did not trust her to impale him with her double-bladed sword that she held by her side, it was that the SHIELD agents behind him were tensing and some had their hands to the butts of their guns. His presentation was more for their benefit than for the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. It would be unbecoming if he was 'accidentally' shot in the back by some enterprising mortal Agent of SHIELD.

He had taken off the earpiece as he had made his way to the hanger bay, even though a part of him craved to try to hear bits and pieces of a one-sided conversation the Avengers must have been having with Hel. Her unexpected presence in London meant a lot of things to him, but the chief reason was that she had willingly left her confinement, or prison, of her realm. There was perhaps the misconception that she, as the ruler of Helheim, was free to leave as she pleased, but that was not the case. She could only be summoned by the Allfather himself to leave her realm. Any knowledge of leaving the realm without permission meant a violation of her imprisonment and would be dealt with swift punishment.

He suspected that if she was in London, she had also shielded herself from Heimdall's gaze, cloaking herself in the shadows of her magicks. Part of her sentence was to  _not_ use that particular power and perhaps was one of the reasons why the Warriors Three and Lady Sif had been sent to Midgard to collect him. They had said so as much, that he was accused of treason for freeing Jormungandr and Hel. They believed him to have cloaked her in the shadows and away from Heimdall's gaze with his magicks. But also of freeing Fenrir...that made Loki instantly cautious.

The caution was not borne out of fear, but rather because of Fenrir's strengths and abilities. Fenrir was kept in Lake Amsvatnir, located in the mountainous regions of the flat-asteroid realm that was Asgard. Hidden deep within the woods and warded by several powerful spells and the like, Fenrir's prison was the only one closest to Asgard itself. It was because  _everyone_ knew how deadly and powerful Fenrir was during the days of the coterie and the Allfather himself had made sure that Fenrir was close enough to be kept an eye on. The mortals had adapted the adage of what the Allfather had done – keep friends close, but keep enemies closer. And it was literal in Fenrir's case.

“Will you yield?” Sif asked, her dark eyes darting this way and that as the other agents who had come out to the hanger bay erupted in murmurs. The other three behind her had also put their hands cautiously to their weapons, but had not draw or activated them. At least they understood the tenuous situation they were in, Loki supposed as he shrugged lightly.

“The Allfather accuses me of treason?” he asked lightly.

Sif chewed her lower lip, “In so many words, Prince Loki.” He had never known her to be so formal with him, and even rarely used his title. “He wishes for you to return so that he may question you regarding their disappearance.”

“But not treason,” Loki countered and Sif reluctantly canted her head in acquisition of her words of error. “Yet I suppose the Court thinks I have freed them...dull idiotic Courtiers, the lot of them.”

“Your public perception still needs work,” Sif replied a little dryly.

“And pray tell, why should I return at this moment? I am in the middle of highly important things,” he waved an absent hand towards the hallway that led back to the laboratory.

“Loki, they have _escaped-_ someone freed them-”

“You think it is I who did such a thing-”

Sif's eyebrows rose up in incredulity, “Everyone thinks it was your doing! Even the Allfather! You...you had associations with them, ran with them for years, while your brother, mother, and father all worried about you during that time and even now!”

“If they worried for me, then they certainly did not show it,” he snorted with a shake of his head, “they _never_ cared about who I associated with until I presented them at Court and heard the whispers that they were _unnatural_ , that the Prince was associating himself with _unnatural_ and unbecoming companions who would bring about the ruin of the House of Odin.”

“Their magicks _were_ unnatural-”

“Only to your feeble warrior-centric mind, Sif. Their magicks were a thing to behold and admire,” he snarled back at her before taking a deep breath and composing himself once more. It would be too easy to take her apart with far nastier words, but at the same time he knew it would only provoke her friends behind her and Loki had no inclination of fighting them and risk SHIELD shooting him from behind should they decide that he was once again, a threat. Plus there was something about ripping Sif apart with his words in such a pathetic setting that unsettled him. He would rather do it in front of the Court itself than in front of these mortals who would probably soon forget the conversation here. The Court had the same prejudices as she had and it would have been lovely to let them all know that magick-users did exist amongst them and would not stand to be trodden upon time and time again.

“I hate to interrupt, but if you're trying to make a case for yourself that you didn't free the three in question, you're doing a piss poor job,” Fury's voice broke through as he and Sif turned to see the Director of SHIELD walking out of one of the halls, brushing past Agent Hill who stood at attention.

“I was not 'making my case' as you think,” Loki countered, wondering what the Director was going to do. It was superficial at the very least when Fury most likely would say that the Warriors Three and Lady Sif could escort him back to the Allfather. Superficial because Loki knew that the Director had no real authority over him on Midgard; the only thing to be held over him was the geas made – but even that could be circumvented as it was not an all-encompassing one like the one he had made a little over a year ago.

“Still, I'd like to know the specifics of why I should allow Mr. Odinson here to go with you four back to Asgard,” Fury directed his one-eyed gaze to Sif and the others, all of whom frowned a little.

“This is a matter of Asgardian-”

“No,” Fury held up a finger, “this is a matter that's on Midgard, on Earth, and for that matter, on my damn Helicarrier. You, even if you're from a different world, entered the premises of the rulers here, in the sky. I'm pretty sure that even for all of your advance tech you still have diplomatic rules to follow.”

“This matter is of a questioning of one of our own-”

“I dare say that Asgard embraced me as my own-”

“Loki, shut up and let me talk,” Fury twisted to look at him briefly before turning back to face the other four. “Now even if it was the questioning of one of your own citizens, I'm pretty sure he came of his own volition, unlike the last two times he was here, and that means he was extended some diplomatic courtesy.” Fury held up a finger pointed straight at Loki who blinked, “Ah, don't say another word.”

Loki could only smirk and mimed to obey. This had been an interesting development and it actually sounded as if Fury did not want him to go. He could only guess at the multitude of reasons why; more than one reason being that Fury thought he could be used, but in this case, Loki was more than happy to let the Director of SHIELD fight this battle. It was amusing, especially since Fury was not twisting the words, but more like bending whatever diplomatic rules he figured the Asgardians had to follow. He wondered if Thor, on his many visits, had deigned to teach Fury and SHIELD the diplomatic rules one followed whenever they were in other realms other than Midgard.

It was amusing in a way to see Fury apply some of those rules and common courtesies to the pathetic mortals of Midgard. Faendral was right when he had spoken about how they used to go to Midgard, throw some 'lighting' and other sorts of things and make the mortals worship them. In the many years, they seemed to now think themselves equal to the other realms, that they were indeed ready for a higher form of war and thus deserved such diplomatic courtesies when paid a visit from the heralds of Asgard.

How very wrong they were...but, Loki would not tell them, not yet at least.

“Even if he was responsible for freeing Jorumungandr, Hel, and Fenrir from their prisons,” Fury tilted his head a little, “it still means we get priority in questioning and arresting him.”

“The Allfather's rule-”

“May be in control of all the realms, but then again, you've never really paid much attention to the realm of the mortals until now, haven't you? So why should we, little briefly-candled mortals as you probably see us, be submissive to the Allfather's rule? Think about it. Our trial and prosecution of Loki here, _if he did do it_ , mind you – we do have a little thing in the United States, and most of the major countries that oversees SHIELD, called due process. Innocent until proven guilty.”

Sif's frown deepened, “And you believe him innocent of this crime?”

“I believe in the freedom of information and _where_ I can get all of my information from. There are many sides to a story. Something I think you and the rest of Asgard are known to retell in your feasts.”

Loki was a little impressed, though by not much considering he knew that Fury was a very shrewd negotiator, especially when making geas contracts now. There was also the matter that Fury had somehow convinced the Avengers during the first Chitauri invasion that Agent Coulson had died and that they needed to 'avenge' him. Instead of twisting the words like himself, Fury used those words, turning what Loki had intended as insults into a self-depreciating play on the plight of the inhabitants of this realm.

“Like I said, our trial and prosecution of Mr. Odinson here would be brief. Probably just a blink of an eye in your lifespans. So the fact that you're demanding his return here means that you're depriving us of a method of our justice. Plus, you forget. Jormungandr and Hel are attacking _Midgard_. Not Asgard. Midgard. So please, forgive me if I think that your half-assed attempts to be threatening is probably just bunk. You're gonna have to threaten a lot more effectively and also, probably convince his brother that you can take him into custody.”

No sooner than those words left Fury's mouth that Loki heard the distant electrical charge and buildup of Mjolnir before Thor landed unceremoniously near them with a heavy thunk. The timing could not have been coincidental as Thor stalked over, and Loki wondered if Fury had used his chance of talking to delay any further action from the four against him until Thor arrived. He had to give the mortal some credit for being very observant considering that Thor would probably do everything to prevent him from going to the Allfather unless it was he, himself who dragged him to the Bifrost landing site.

“Thor,” Sif acknowledged with a brief small smile.

“Sif,” Thor replied, “what proof does the Allfather have of Loki's involvement in their escape?”

“I was not privy to that information,” Sif shook her head, “but the Allfather has commanded us to take him back to answer to him.”

Thor seemed to war with something within him before he turned and stared at Loki who still kept his hands to his side, showing a non-threatening pose as much as possible.

“What explanation can you give, brother, of Hel's appearance in London? You said that Jormungandr-”

“I only speculated that Jormungandr's fear of water would put him in London more than Rotterdam,” Loki replied back, keeping his voice mild and light and saw Thor frowned.

“Your play on words is not convincing-”

“Why should I convince you, Thor,” he threw a withering look at Thor and at Fury, “the Director here may have put up a valiant effort to stall for time until your arrival, but it was because he knew how you would react if I so happenstance been whisked away by these four.”

“The temptation to let them take you is great,” Thor rumbled back, eyes narrowed, and tone low.

“Sarcasm does not become you brother,” Loki rolled his eyes before looking at Fury again, “and what is it for you to break the contract if I am to be taken by them? For all you know, the Allfather would have imprisoned me and thus you would not be able to fulfill your side of the agreement by handing over Jormungandr.”

The reaction was immediate as Fury doubled over a little before holding up a hand to ward off the sudden crescendo of guns being readied and all now pointed at him. The mortal took several deep breaths before slowly righting himself. “I did promise, didn't I,” Fury spoke through tightly clenched teeth as his body slowly relaxed, “but for all we know, you can't deliver on the means to the cure if the Allfather imprisons  _you_ .”

But Loki was ready and let the brief pull of pain from the contract pass through him, his eyes only crinkling a bit as the pain spiked before he soothed it with a mental assurance that he would fulfill his side of the bargain. He could easily ready the frustration and disappointment in Director Fury's eyes even though his expression betrayed nothing. There had been the hope that Fury tried to convince him that he should be more cooperative, but Loki knew that the mortals did not understand. All of this...all of this nonsense was just that – nonsense. As long as he did not step outside where Heimdall could see him in open air, then he would be fine.

“Thor, this is ridiculous. Let us take Loki back. If he is to be imprisoned, then we will explain to the Allfather the geas contract he has made with this mortal and see it fulfilled under strict supervision in the Healing Hall on Asgard,” Sif shook her head, as she looked at Thor before looking at Loki.

He could see her trying to plead with him to see reason, at least just this once, that it was to be fair that the Allfather's summons could not be ignored. There might have been a time, long ago, where Loki knew that those summons could not be ignored, but that time had long passed and he answered to no one. He was the Allfather's advisor, not even the favored Prince and thus had no obligations-

The roar of the quinjet settling down in the hanger bay drew everyone's gaze to it as Loki saw the ramp open and Dr. Banner hurry out, one of his hands clenched. Surprisingly his clothes was not in tatters as Loki had been led to believe whenever he turned into the green monster, but rather was still pressed, if a bit wrinkled from the hours in the lab. Did Hel's presence in London have anything to do with it, he wondered.

Behind the lead quinjet, two others made their approach and landed with wounded SHIELD agents pouring out. A couple sported grisly head wounds, their faces half covered in bandages, nearly making them unidentifiable except for the tags they wore. But he paid them no mind as he saw Banner run past Thor and up to him, stopping before him with his hand outstretched.

“I...got the cure...at least I think it's the cure. Hel said...it was,” Banner huffed several breaths as he opened his hand and Loki stared at the small bulbous bottle in his palm.

He gently picked up the bottle, holding it delicately in between his index finger and thumb as he stared at it. His thoughts swirled as he tried to make sense of the gift that Hel had obviously given. There was no use spelling it, since he recognized the bottle and design as one to prevent such things from happening. It was the same ones he had used during his time in the coterie, specially made by their mutual teacher. The only way to know what was inside was to open it and Loki knew better than to risk everyone's health by opening such a bottle. There was also the fact that Thor was still too close and if it was the same poison and he could not contain it...he did not want to finish that thought as he stared.

“So...is it the cure? Does it have Jormungandr's venom in it? She said it was something I needed, so that's the only thing I could think of, that or the cure, but it couldn't be that easy, right?” Banner was mostly talking to himself now, “why would so do it?”

Loki shook his head a little and palmed the bottle into his own hand, “It will have to do.” He did not know what Hel's motivations were for giving such a thing to Banner, but he did know that if she had said it was something Banner needed, then it was truly that – something he needed. She was not like him, no lies, no trickery, no wordplay. Her words were fueled by the magicks within her and they were always the sting of truth.

He spun on his heel and made a beeline towards the entrance that would take him back into the bowels of the Helicarrier, Banner following behind him.

“Loki-”

“I will return to Asgard _when_ the cure is finished. Not before then,” he called back forcibly.

Just before the doors closed behind him and Banner he heard Fury shout, “All right, what the fuck is going on? Thor, Stark, Barton, briefing room now. Get Rogers to the infirmary.”

Loki shook his head as he gritted his teeth in frustration as the doors hissed closed. When he finished and returned to Asgard, he would prove to the Allfather that he had  _nothing_ to do with this. He broke the coterie and he would  _gladly_ do so again.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Wishing my readers a Happy late Thanksgiving and early Happy Holidays. Updates will be sparse around the holidays since I will be busy with work. Anyways, Hel is an interesting character to write as her motivations are basically summed up thusly: it's complicated. The others, not so much.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 8_

 

It was about an hour later and Thor could not keep the small satisfied smile off of his face. His friends, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, openly gaped at the bridge of the Helicarrier from where they sat. Their eyes were wide as they took in the array of technology the humans had been able to produce since the days of yore. He felt a little proud of what he had accomplished in terms of relations between Asgard and Midgard and was glad that his friends were finally sharing in some of that labor. Though considering the circumstances and the possibility that Loki was really guilty of freeing Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir, his smile was not as boisterous as he knew he could have been.

There had been a bit of an awkwardness in part of his friends as they stood at the edges of the Bifrost landing site, wondering if they should return back to Asgard with news that Loki would not leave until he had finished his task, or stay. He had encouraged them to attend Fury's briefing and had assured the Director of SHIELD that his friends would mean no harm. There was also the fact that Thor knew that whatever knowledge Fury wanted regarding Hel, Fenrir, and the rest of the coterie his friends would at least provide a different point of view. Or at least one that was not clouded by his familial relationship to Loki.

He was not blind nor ignorant to what the other Avengers and even Fury thought of his attempts to reconcile and defend Loki. It was that he knew that they did not understand the familial love and bond that he shared with him – or at least he tried to openly show to Loki who constantly rejected it. He had been hurt more than once regarding Loki's rejections, but that was something for him to deal with. He would not budge – Loki  _needed_ to know that he would always be there for his brother, no matter what happened. That he would not be abandoned again nor think of himself as being abandoned with no support. His attempts to help fight Thanos with him had ended poorly and had resulted in his brother's brief brush with death. No, he would not make that same mistake again.

The Allfather was reticent in showing affection of any kind; and even his words were quiet and understated. The Allmother,  _their_ mother, had her own calming ways, but she could not be a constant present for Loki with her own affairs to run in the domestic court. So it had fallen, no, Thor had  _taken it_ upon himself to make sure that Loki knew he was well loved by his family, if only by himself if need be.

But this...the possibility that his brother had freed members of his coterie – it hurt Thor. He only vaguely remembered the reason why, but he remembered long ago that there had been a childish eagerness, a bright spark of light that had been within his brother as he had embraced his coterie and had ran with them. Then...something happened to extinguished, or at least bury that light so deep within him that it was all but smothered.

Perhaps not completely as he wondered if the flickering candled of that light, the eagerness and  _happiness_ that had defined his brother during the time of the coterie had somehow lit into existence once more. But instead of flamed by an  _innocent_ intention, it was flamed now by Loki's twisted sense of hurt, pain, and righteousness. That he would now use the coterie for nefarious purposes – a slight that he felt Asgard, and maybe even the Allfather, owed him after Thanos, after his fall from the Bifrost into the abyss and shadows of Yggdrasil. Perhaps it was now fueled by a sense of recompense of sorts, much like how he had wanted to take the Earth as his own a little over a year ago.

This possibility disturbed Thor and he hoped it was not true – that Loki was true to his intention to help the humans in creating a cure for Jormungandr's poison; that he did not free Hel nor Fenrir from their eternal imprisonments.

“Thor,” Fury's voice directed at him pulled him out of his dark thoughts as he looked up to see the dark-skinned man rounding the triangular table that was to the side of the bridge of the Helicarrier. “I want _everything_ you know about Loki's coterie. _Everything_. Jormungandr's attacked Earth and now Hel's here which means she's probably going to cause trouble and the fact that Fenrir is somewhere loose and we don't know where also means that Earth will probably be under attack. That means you don't hold back on any information. You don't color it with your opinion or your feelings regarding Loki. This is Earth that's under attack, not Asgard.”

“I...understand,” Thor could see Sif and Faendral bristling under what they consider slights, but held up his hand a little to calm them down. “Perhaps my friends would be able to provide more information should you deem mine unsatisfactory.”

Fury nodded curtly, understanding that even with his order, Thor could not, would not keep his opinion regarding Loki and the coterie at a bare minimum. He could, however, protect at least a majority of the royal secrets, since the coterie was not considered part of it – but it still was a hushed subject that even he knew was not spoken by the Court under Odin's explicit orders. That was where his friends would at least provide some of the other information considering that even he did not know due to the circumstances during that time.

“So,” Stark was now dressed in his comfortable attire of a long-sleeved shirt and pants while Barton was wearing a less armored version of his uniform as they sat around the table, “who the heck is Lady Hel and how the hell was she able to do all of that crap.” His lips twisted a little, “No pun intended.”

The only one of the Avengers who had not been incapacitated by Jormungandr's poison who was not at the briefing was Dr. Banner. But Thor suspected he was listening in as he worked with Loki in the labs once more.

“She is the current ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead. Those glorified in death go to Valhalla while those who are not more often than not go to Helheim,” Thor explained and saw the mortals' eyes stare at him in confusion.

“She's dead?”

“She is the ruler of the dead,” Thor clarified, “and all who die in the realms usually go to her realm to pass the time there before they are deemed to be released from her gaze.”

“The hell-the heck does that mean?” Stark corrected himself.

“I do not know,” Thor shook his head, “even I do not know the workings of her realm and the Allfather has not given me such knowledge. I believe if I were to perish not in battle, but of old age, then I would either find myself in her realm or in Valhalla.”

“That's...trippy...” Barton said softly as he looked away and Thor stared at him for a moment, wondering if the archer was religious. He knew of the main monotheistic religion amongst the mortals, the worship of a one God that would bring them to a place called Heaven where eternal peace reigned or damn them to Hell when they died. Those that went to the place called Hell would suffer eternal damnation and Thor wondered if Barton was trying to separate the two or was having a crisis of faith.

He himself did not want to get into the intricacies of religion and the like, but explaining about Lady Hel was sure to be indelicate in the worst way.

“Her punishment, as was told by the Allfather to me after the coterie had been broken, was to never leave her realm without the Allfather's explicit permission and to never use her magicks to cloak herself from Heimdall's gaze. He would be able to see her at all times to ensure her compliance,” he quickly continued, seeing that talking about Helheim was going to make the humans more uncomfortable.

“And I suppose Heimdall can't see her anymore?” Stark asked his voice dry, but his expression mirthless.

“To my knowledge yes. Heimdall would have immediately transported her via Bifrost in the open area of Trafalgar Square if he was able to see her,” the fact that she walked so openly fueled a lot of Thor's doubts that his brother had a hand in her escape. His brother had boasted that he was able to cloak himself in the shadows of Heimdall's gaze and even had given that spell or magicks to Thanos to cloak the Chitauri in their attacks around the realms. He suspected it would be mere child's play for him to cloak the Lady of the Realm of the Dead herself.

The fact that she had used the portal into shadows of Yggdrasil to arrive in London had further his suspicions. After all, she had been explicitly forbidden to use such magicks, and had clearly broken that command – but had she learned many of those spells from Loki? His brother had been in and out of the Courts and was skilled at illusions – perhaps he could have slipped in and out of the shadows to prepare for her eventual escape.

He shook his head inwardly. He wanted to believe the best in Loki, but he also knew that his brother loved the subtle magicks and plans that came to fruition...ironically much like the Allfather if he really wanted to believe that. Everything his brother did had a purpose.

“Are those the only three of the coterie or can we expect more to start popping up?” Fury asked, his fingers forming a steeple on top of the table.

“No,” Thor shook his head as he crossed his fingers together and set his elbows on the table, “to the best of my knowledge there had been four others when Loki presented them to the Courts. Vali, Narfi, Angrboda, and Sigyn.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa...that's like almost everyone in the Norse myths who's associated really closely with Loki,” Barton's expression was tense and uneasy as he leaned forward in his seat. “Thor, those names...Cap gave me a copy of the book that he read as a kid about the Norse myths, and those names...they're either labeled as Loki's kids or are married to him.”

“They...were close,” Thor mused reluctantly as he thought back to what he knew about the coterie and the days before. He had never considered it, but upon reflection, he had been jealous that there were others that Loki could conceivably be friends with. The coterie had shown that and Thor wondered if it had been a remnant of childish whim that he had determined to hate them and ultimately...undermine them with his jealous notions. He grimaced as he thought back to his actions then...he had been selfish, jealous that Loki had found companions and had looked like he had truly enjoyed their company.

“Perhaps...” he rubbed his chin and stared at his lifelong companions with a long look, making all four of them stare back in wonderment. “Perhaps they are comparable to my friends here...”

“Thor-”

“Wait a minute, Thor, we are your blood companions, they used magicks-”

It was Sif who held up her hand silencing both Volstagg and Faendral from defending his honor and whatever protests that they were to come up with. She had a crooked smile on her face as she nodded once, “Thor is right. Loki's coterie was much like his family; the first one outside of the royal companions and friends that we had been. Though considering the circumstances, our friendship was more based with Thor than with Loki himself.”

“Sif...” Thor protested, but Sif held up her hand again and he fell silent. Her words were always blunt and Thor knew that she would speak the unvarnished truth if allowed. She was not eloquent with words like Loki, but in the thousand of years of playmates with the two princes of the House of Odin, she had picked up on some of the wordplay. Especially considering the minor, unspoken rivalry she had with Loki for his attention. And he knew that he relied upon Sif and Loki the most when it came to their adventures in the realms.

“It would be prudent by then to know that Loki had started to dabble in his magicks, first taught by Queen Frigga as she is the patron of the healing arts and perhaps some minor spells and basic illusions. The Queen herself was of Vanir blood, so the Court knew of her spellcasting ways, even though prudence demanded nothing overt. But we did not know of Loki's inheritance of that magicks and thought it was just the mixing of blood between the Allfather and Allmother.

“Thor had shown no inclination of magicks even as he was taught by the Healers as all warriors were to do to manipulate healing stones and grasp the inherent magicks imbued within our weapons,” Sif said quietly.

“I thought Loki was adopted?” Stark blurted out, hand half-raised into the air.

“The knowledge of Loki's true parentage was not discovered until very recently,” Thor interjected with a grimace. He could see the other mortals shift in their seats at the implication of that statement, but did not blame them. Perhaps it was what sent Loki over the edge, to destroy Jotunheim with the Bifrost, to plan and thwart King Laufey's assassination attempt on the Allfather during his Odinsleep. There were so many variables, that even Thor did not know and he knew that to demand an explanation from his brother was pointless. Thanos could be blamed for twisting Loki's thoughts, but truth be told, Thor did not know how twisted his brother's thoughts were at this time...the only thing he was grateful for was that Loki was not in Thanos' grasp.

“Loki disappeared for a time, then when he returned, it was to present his companions to the Court,” Sif continued, “and we thought them unnatural. The sheer amount of power and magicks each held, each specializing in their own unique way – this was not the way of Asgard, not the way of battle. We considered them to be beneath us.”

“Just because they're different-”

Sif stared at Stark with a plain look, “Yes. Because they wielded something that we did not understand and still do not to this day. We were wary of them. Even the Vanir, our sister race to whom we shared battlemages with did not understand them. But no one dared contradict the second Prince in the Courts. So there were whispers.”

Stark's brow crinkled as if he wanted to say something, but then seemingly shook his head, his internal thoughts warring within him. Thor watched a myriad of emotions flit across the man of iron's face, almost too fast for him to figure out what he was thinking, but he briefly wondered if Stark had those same words thrown at him like what had been whispered in the Courts after Loki's presentation of his coterie.

“You bullied them,” Barton's voice was surprisingly flat and Thor saw that the archer looked angry, but not at them, at something else.

“I would say we did not-”

“We did, Faendral,” Sif interrupted him, “we were not kind to them as Loki had hoped we would be back then. You, Volstagg, and even you Thor, did not see the hurt we had inflicted-”

“Actually...I did,” Faendral stared at the table, his face twisted into a grimace, “I...I saw it one day, but chose to ignore it. Probably...stupid of me because we could have stopped it then and there if we knew what was going to happen...”

“We could not have known what would have happened,” Hogun spoke up, his voice raspy, but firm and Thor glanced at him to see him shake his head and the others reluctantly nod.

“My next words are of speculation, but we believe that Loki and his coterie went back into whatever shadows they had came from and plotted to take over Asgard,” Sif continued her narrative and Thor absently nodded, “when they re-emerged, we thought them changed, subdued, understanding of our ways and that their magicks were unnatural. We believed that Loki had told his companions the intricacies of the Court, that change would come slowly. Then came the marauding attacks all over the realms. The five of us were sent to deal with the various bands-”

“Then Thor fell ill,” Faendral interjected, “and we along with the two others of Loki's companions, Jormungandr and Fenrir, were sent to find a cure for this illness.”

“It was similar to the poison gas grenades used by HYDRA,” Thor spoke up, looking at his friends the Avengers, “it is the reason why I recognized the magicks used when I held the grenade in my hands.”

“Somewhere in our expedition, Loki disappeared and that was when Jormungandr and Fenrir attacked us. We eventually subdued them and brought them back to Asgard,” Sif did not meet his gaze as he listened intently to her narrative. She was a good storyteller, especially during feasts, but to see her speak now, summarizing what should have been a grandiose battle spoken at the tables, told him of the seriousness of the situation.

“My brother disappeared?” he asked and Sif nodded, still avoiding his gaze.

“Yes. To this day we do not know and you yourself have heard the rumors, but when we arrived back on Asgard with Jormungandr and Fenrir, we learned that we had returned to a sentencing for crimes of the highest treason. Lady Hel was the first, Fenrir the second and Jormungandr the last. Only Loki, Odin Allfather and Frigga Allmother were allowed in the throne room, but we did hear a lot of shouting. Even the House Guards were sworn to silence regarding what had happened in there.”

“So what happened to the others?” Fury asked.

“The Allfather announced during the feast that the surviving traitors had been dealt with and there would be no songs sung of the battles fought or anymore mention of the coterie.”

“ _Surviving traitors..._ ” Stark whispered mostly to himself, “...holy shit...”

“My brother-”

“Was not at the subsequent feasts,” Sif shook her head before giving him a wan smile, “we found him by your bedside in the Healing Halls just...sitting there, waiting.”

“Are you sure that Vali, Narfi, Angrboda, and Sigyn are really dead?” Fury asked, pinning the five of them with a steely-eyed look.

Thor saw Sif shift in her seat, but the others nodded their assent. “Sif?” he prompted, wondering why she was so hesitant.

“I...overheard this and still do not quite believe it to this day,” Thor saw her compose herself as calmly as she could, “and it has never been repeated, not even to the Allfather...but the four others were killed by Loki.”

Thor blinked, a little shocked and surprised as he digested this new information. He had  _never_ heard of that rumor spread about the Courts, not even whispered amongst the House Guards, even if they had been sworn to silence. He himself had wheedled some of the secrets they knew out of the Guards, most of the time citing that he was to be their future King and he needed to know the information. But this one... Thor realized that there was only one who would say such a thing and it was Loki himself...and for Sif to know that...

He knew of the  _very_ brief time Sif and his brother had been involved, but many had thought it was just petty spats that amounted to an unusual form of flirting. His brother would never readily give up his own secrets in front of others so the only way Sif would have known that particular secret was if there had been an intimate relationship. He blinked again as that thought sunk in and saw Sif look away from him, seemingly determined to wash all thoughts of having a previous relationship with Loki from her mind.

Loki had been very secretive since the days of the coterie, so to allow himself to tell Sif something like that and not anyone else...there had to be a grain of truth – even if he was known as the Silvertongue and Liesmith.

But to hear that his brother had seemingly killed four of his companions...to betray his friends like that – he did not understand why. If the coterie was comparable to his friendship with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif, Thor could never fathom betraying his friends like that. Not after all that they had been through. His friends had even went against the Allfather's explicit orders, against Loki's orders during his regency, to save him. But for Loki to do it...Thor did not know what to think. The Loki he knew back then versus what he knew now...?

“Do you think Loki deliberately killed them, sent them to Helheim or wherever, and even the ones that were imprisoned, do you think that he did it to release them at a later time?” Fury asked slowly.

“My heart tells me no...” Thor said softly, wanting to believe his brother, but the possibility still existed. There was no chance that the coterie had been sent to the honored halls of Valhalla, not for what they had done. But to Helheim, to where Lady Hel ruled and oversaw the dead...the possibility existed. The others had said that he had disappeared during the quest to find the cure, leaving them to fend for themselves against Jormungandr and Fenrir. Sif even said that supposedly Loki had killed the four others and that the rest were imprisoned. It would be like Loki to have such a scheme for the long run, to hopefully one day change the opinions of those at Court, to present to them his coterie once more.

So then why was his brother furiously adamant about making the cure? It made no sense. Was it a ploy to deflect suspicion away from him, to have them see that he had nothing to do with it? Was that the truth or was it like many of Loki's illusions, wanting them to see what he _wanted_ them to see?

“But...” Fury prompted and Thor shook his head.

“...my heart tells me no...” he repeated himself quietly, “he is my brother...” He pushed his chair back as he stood up gripping Mjolnir. It was oddly light in his hand instead of its usual metallic heaviness. “I am...sorry, my friends...” He grimaced and nodded mostly to himself as he left the bridge, headed towards the temporary quarters he had been given for some solitude.

He wanted to believe in his brother, but at the same time knew that if all of this was a ploy; a feint by him for some mad scheme to show the Allfather the power of his coterie, then it would break his heart. But at the same time, he also knew that if it came to that, this time,  _this time_ , he would stop the coterie's schemes before his brother could be hurt from them again.

* * *

The whirling hum of a centrifuge spinning away was the only sound in the lab for the last twenty minutes or so as Loki studied a drop of the venom that had been in the bottle Hel had given Dr. Banner. About half an hour ago, he had finally opened the bottle after hastily constructing the strongest barrier he could create using a spare modular he had with him in case the bottle was a trap.

But that had proven unnecessary as it had been the venom of a sea serpent, an unclassified one by mortal standards. Banner had identified it as much based on the samples he had scattered over his workstation, but Loki did not quite care about that. The doctor had then mumbled about something regarding separating things within the venom that he had not paid attention to, taking a drop for himself to study in the silvalume.

“Loki, mind if I ask you a question?” Banner suddenly asked and he only arched an eyebrow at the rhetoricalness of what was said.

“Lady Hel...she was a part of your coterie, right?” Banner sounded hesitant, but Loki did not look up from where he pulled at the skeins and weaves. It was similar to the bonding agent used in the blood samples, but not as dense. Still, he did not want to risk any untoward explosions or the like. They were dealing with the venom itself, not the infected blood.

“Why would she do something like this? I mean, why give us the venom from Jormungandr if she's working with him?”

“Not...necessarily,” he murmured as he studied another skein before his fingers twitched to switch to a different section.

“Huh?”

Loki released the skeins and glanced up at his screen, noting the small window where there was an overhead view of the briefing being conducted by Fury, the remaining Avengers, and the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. He was surprised that the four stayed, having hoped that they return to Asgard. But he supposed Thor would always take the opportunity to make sure his friends were well acquainted with his precious mortals on Midgard. A quick glance at Banner told him that he was watching the briefing, but his earpiece was not in. Loki did not know what to quite make of it. He would have thought that the scientist would had liked to listen into the tale that Thor and the others were going to spin about his coterie, but the fact that Banner did not have his earpiece in told another story.

And he realized that Banner was still staring at him with an expectant look, waiting for an answer to his previous question. Perhaps there was something to be said about the mortal who held no judgment in his eyes, at least none that he could see for the moment; the mortal who did not exactly sympathize with him, but had been a little less hostile – he dared not say friendlier – than the others aboard the Helicarrier.

There had to be something gained from this, but Loki did not know what. He shook his head inwardly, pushing that thought aside for the moment. Whatever there was to be gained, it at least gave him the chance to answer questions about his coterie on his own terms instead of the farce that Thor and the others were surely to spin to the others.

“Are you asking me if I had freed them?” he asked lightly, but kept his gaze sharp on Banner.

“That's part of it, but I just want to know about Hel. She was literally able to suppress the Other Guy...and the only other person-being, that I know could do that is Thanos. He did it on the Helicarrier during the attack, but it _hurt_. She...when she did it...it...felt _weird_.”

Loki's lips twitched in a slight smile at Banner's attempt to try to piece what he had felt with that powerful brush of magicks from Hel. “It does not surprise me that she knew how to use that spell. The beast within you is a force of its own and by my reckoning, has saved you more than once from the embrace of death has it not?”

“...Yes...” the corners of Banner's eyes crinkled in pain at what was probably memories of shame.

“The Lady Hel is the ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead. Her magicks skew towards the shadows of death and those amongst her realm.”

“That certainly explains why her clothes sounds like the howling of the damned and that her portals whisper something god-awful,” Banner muttered.

“The shadows in between Yggdrasil are entwined with the magicks that she uses,” Loki shrugged, “whereas it is not death magick, it is close enough that it is...a place where one crosses oneself.” He suppressed a shudder of fear that shot through him at the mention of the abyss and the shadows in between that he had fallen into when the Bifrost had been broken. Even with Thanos trapped, it had been...unpleasant to say the least to have experienced the true shadows with no anchor, no destination in mind, nothing that prevented him from grabbing a metaphoric hand-hold to hold himself whenever he traveled the shadows freely.

“You learned it from her?” Banner asked, “is she the Death that Thanos courts?”

Loki blinked and came back to himself before shaking his head, “No. Her mother is Death itself.”

Banner fell silent at that for a long moment before blinking several times and snorted lightly, “Well...that makes more sense. I mean, Death in the literal sense, has a daughter who's the guardian and queen of the realm of the dead. Totally makes sense...wait a minute...” The scientist stared at him, “You learned to walk the shadows of Yggdrasil from  _Death_ herself?!”

Loki smirked, “Amongst other things...who better a teacher than the one who would greet you at the end of your life?”

“Did you...uh, did you die?” Banner shook his head, “Sorry, that's so Tony of me, but I mean...h-how?!”

“Is that truly what you want to know?” Loki asked with an edge of warning his tone. He was willing to indulge Banner's curiosities at the moment, knowing that he was not inclined to repeat any of this, not even to Tony Stark, but also knew that the scientist was edging into something he would _never_ talk about. Not even to Thor, not even to his mother who had been his first teacher.

Banner shook his head again, “No...yes, but at the same time no...it...it must have been tough...”

“Yes...it was,” he was willing to say that much as Banner cleared his throat nervously and rubbed the back of his head, taking a quick look at the briefing that was going on. It seemed that Thor was trying to say something and looked like he had swallowed several bligesnipes to do so.

“Your...coterie...they also learned from Death?” Banner asked after a moment's pause.

“After a fashion,” he replied, “we were all like-minded and for once, we were lauded for our abilities, not scorned. And we sought to bring acceptance to those who feared us.”

“Why? I mean, we embrace science and technology-”

“But only recently, am I correct? Just hundreds of years ago, technology and the sciences were scorned by the ruling mortals of this realm as heresy, punishable by death. Even now, your wars against each other are of ideologies that you do not accept, that whom you perceive as the enemy do not accept.”

“Yeah, but we've made strides to accept-”

“How many have died? How many more will die?” Loki asked and saw Banner fall silent as he put the pieces together and looked away from him.

“SHIELD tolerates me for what I am, but I can see that they also fear me. Even if I tell them I have the Other Guy mostly in control, they don't believe it after so many incidents. Hell, Tony's told me that he's refused to tell SHIELD where I am when he knows exactly where I am. He's...the only one who's really accepted me and is willing to protect me. I don't know what I've done to deserve his friendship, but...the others...”

Banner raised his head to look at him again, a slightly bitter sardonic smile on his face, “That's what the coterie tried to do, right?”

“In a similar manner,” Loki knew he had been an ideological fool back then; naive and willing to believe what the others had said. He thought he could have used his position as the second Prince of Asgard to force a change, to force acceptance. That the battlemages of Vanir and of the Aesir were cowards for hiding behind their secretive skills, to try to blend in with the warriors that they fought alongside. That the Healers were stupid for pretending that their magicks were not magicks at all. Even the Vanir were cowards for pretending that they were like their sister race the Aesir, denying their magicks and abilities, pretending that they were something that they were not.

“Hel was the only one of us who said it was a fool's wish,” he continued softly, “and she was right in the end.”

“You failed in changing their minds?”

“There were four others of the coterie,” Loki stared at a point beyond Banner's head as he remembered the flash of blades, impact of spells, his own desperate fight- blood spraying in the air along with the heavy thunk of a body falling. There had been more than one body that had fallen in that time... He had stared at the blank eyes, heard the screams, the denials, but he had been so...oddly calm. It was as if he realized what had truly happened then and...knew what he had to do.

“Vali, Narfi, Sigyn, and Angrboda,” he said, his voice oddly detached, allowing himself a moment in the memories he had long suppressed, “they are all dead.”

“...And the others imprisoned...” Banner finished quietly before taking a deep breath, “Loki...what happened? I mean...if they were your coterie...they were like your family, your close friends. What...happened?”

Loki shook his himself out of his memories as he smiled crookedly, “What always happens, Doctor. Thor.”

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I'd like to take the time to thank all who have favorited, alerted, and reviewed this fic. I also wanted to take the time to thank my beta reader Legume Shadow for giving this a once-over. Hopefully updates will be faster as this is now my sole concentration for the holidays! I also oddly want to write that backstory described in this chapter...huh. Food for thought...

 


	9. Chapter 9

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 9_

 

Thor had just hung up the phone provided for him to communicate with Jane Foster when he saw Dr. Banner approaching him with hesitation in his steps. It had been a couple of days since Hel had delivered Jormungandr's venom and the Doctor had good news that he was more than likely to create a cure out of it. The process had already begun, but there had been no way to deliver it. Like the poison that was coated in magicks, the venom and subsequent anti-venom to be created was coated in magicks that encased the cure in a barrier rendering it undeliverable.

Banner had said that he was sure he had the cure, but since Loki had not found a feasible way around the magicks and barrier, there was no way to test it. They had refused to test it on any of the poisoned agents; tests in the lab had proven the existence of the barrier along with several piles of glass shards.

“Can I help you Dr. Banner?” he asked. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif had taken upon themselves to see what the Helicarrier offered in terms of combat training and had been sparring with some of the agents for the past couple of days. Hogun had said that they were not leaving for Asgard until Loki was finished, having been given strict orders from the Allfather.

“Can you talk to him, to Loki I mean?” Banner looked a little anxious and uneasy.

“What has my brother done?” Thor was instantly alarmed and wary.

“It's not that,” Banner shook his head, “that's just it. He hasn't done _anything_. He's not eaten, not even slept. He leaves for a few minutes every few hours, I think, to go to the bathroom, but that's about it. He hasn't even drunk _anything_. I think he's working on autopilot and I know you guys are like immortal, but seriously...everyone needs sleep, even him...” Banner grimaced, “And he's not getting it...”

“Surely you could have persuaded-”

“Thor,” the doctor shook his head, “I'm not you. I just...he and I just work together, he _tolerates_ me, but he doesn't listen to anything I've said. I mean, short of tranquilizing him, which I don't think anyone can probably do, he's been at his workstation the whole damn time!”

“The cure-”

“Thor,” Banner reached out and placed a hand on his arm, “Loki's been up for the last seventy-two hours. That's _three whole days_.”

Thor grimaced a little. He understood Banner's concern and even he too was starting to become worried by what he had described. But at the same time he also  _knew_ that Loki did not like to be disturbed from his work when he was heavily engrossed in it

It was why he brother had set up wards around his rooms time and time again. He, himself, used to have the minor burn scars and various effects of those wards whenever he ran into them. He had finally learned to leave his brother alone for a couple of days and return when he knew they were at their lowest. It was because by then, Loki was so engrossed in whatever he was doing that his mind was not quite on the wards. The lack of food probably also had something to do with it, but that was why he had been there. He had battered them down and had forcibly dragged Loki away from his workstation to at least get something to eat.

“You let him go like this, didn't you?” Banner suddenly stared at him, eyes narrowed and Thor reluctantly nodded.

“Yes...because it was the only way I knew I could outwit my stubborn brother and his wards that he used in his rooms,” he explained, somehow sensing that Banner was not too pleased with his explanation. How could he explain to his friends the Avengers that his method was seemingly harsh, but at least it was the only way that worked. Even the Allmother could not penetrate Loki's wards when they were at their strongest and the Allfather...it was something that could not be brought to his attention for such a seemingly trivial matter.

The doctor shook his head and muttered, “You guys...” He did not finish his thought as he looked back up at him, “You do know that he most likely doesn't have wards up. I mean, everyone's been able to walk in and out freely and even to his workstation in those three days.”

_ That _ had not occurred to Thor. He realized that he had automatically assumed that when Loki had retreated into his lab area, he had warded the area to prevent anyone from bothering him as was his custom. He had not even approached the area in the past three days out of habit. Considering that the doctor himself had been in and out of the labs, even with food on occasion, he would have thought Loki would have eaten. He had even seen the doctor bring an extra tray whenever he had been inclined to eat in the commissary at odd hours.

But the fact that Dr. Banner had approached him and told him otherwise, Thor mentally shook his head at his own inattentiveness and huffed an irritated sigh. Damn Loki for being so stubborn and damn himself for being so blind and set in ways past.

“Thank you Doctor,” he said sincerely, “I will force my brother to at least get some rest for the time being.”

“The cure is important, but if Loki can't think straight or do his magic spells or whatever straight, it's only going to take longer,” Banner followed at his heels as Thor headed towards the lab that the two had been working in.

When he arrived, he saw that the door was half propped open by Tony Stark who was leaning against the doorway. His arms were crossed and he was staring at his brother who, like Banner had said, was thoroughly engrossed within the eerie glow of his instruments. Thor knew what their names were, but what function they performed, he really had no idea. All he knew was that his brother considered them very precious and in the year that they had all thought him dead, Thor had seen the various spellwork and sundry items left upon them to know that his brother would never leave such work unfinished.

“Tony Stark-”

The man of iron held up a hand and Thor fell silent as he saw the serious expression on his face as he continued to watch Loki. He wondered why Stark was observing his brother, but made no move to walk inside. Perhaps there was now a ward up, but did not know.

“Tony-”

“He's on the verge of a breakthrough,” Stark murmured out of the corner of his mouth, his tone soft unlike the hardness that Thor had heard time and time again whenever his brother's name or actions were mentioned. He realized that Stark was seeing something of himself in Loki at this moment and was content in watching him. That was certainly an odd turn of events considering that Stark had been all but hostile or antagonistic towards Loki each time he had been here.

“...Oh...sorry,” Banner apologized quietly, “I didn't get a good look when I walked by a few minutes ago.”

“And how do you know this?” Thor asked, curious.

“Apparently according to Dummy, Butterfingers, and You's recordings, I get that kind of face,” Stark murmured back quietly. Thor had no idea who the man of iron was talking about, but he supposed it was like the video recordings he had seen, ones that were able to be played back over and over again. “Ah...”

Thor peered over Stark's head and saw that his brother's pensive expression had changed to a nearly overjoyed one and was about to open his mouth to congratulate him when suddenly Loki started to shake his head.

“No, no, no, no, no!” his brother's denials devolved into curses in the Alltongue, the language of the dwarves, fire demons, anything and everything they had been taught as well as some that Thor had never heard, but realized were horrific ones. At the same time Loki suddenly drew his hands away from what he had been working on.

He saw his brother look up at them for a split second before his face morphed into a wordless snarl and his fingers flashed out at them, twisting-

Thor found himself catching Stark and nearly slamming into Banner behind them all as they were seemingly  _pushed_ from the door way just as a huge explosion occurred in the lab.

“Loki!” Thor shouted, as black smoke emerged from the sudden fiery explosion that somehow did not shatter the windows. He pushed Stark away from him and clawed at the open door, his hands burning as he came in contact with a barrier-

And just as suddenly it fell, the black smoke pouring out, setting off the alarms and sprinklers as Thor stormed in, his heart seizing as he expected to see his brother's burnt form somewhere amongst the melted table, display, and vials of glass. It was only another second later that he realized most of the warping was contained on Loki's side, leaving Banner's side of the lab in almost pristine, if a bit soot-covered.

“Loki!” he shouted again as the black smoke started to thin.

He heard his brother's angry, pinched voice swearing in the thinning smoke before he all but barreled out and nearly into him. Thor only managed to side-step before his brother could run headlong into him.

“Loki-”

“Don't,” Stark was suddenly there, stopping him from reaching out to grab his brother's shoulder as he brushed past them, headed out of the door, his swears in different languages still streaming out of his mouth, though now at a low mutter.

“What...what happened?” he asked as he looked towards Loki's place in the lab and saw that his table was all but gone, the vial of venom sitting innocently on what was clearly the epicenter of the explosion.

“Failed result,” Stark replied a little flatly, but somehow, Thor knew that the tone was not directed at his brother, but more towards his own self. “It's a failed result...”

* * *

Loki needed solitude and on this Norn-forsaken ship there was none to be had. He did not care for the quarters that SHIELD had thought to put him in, knowing that he was going to be watched by their cameras. He knew he could cloak himself, but that would only bring the headache of the mortals panicking and Fury potentially trying to use the geas in ways that he cared not for the mortal to discover yet.

He had thought he had it that time, the skeins and weaves in a perfect place before everything exploded. A rebound spell hidden deep within to prevent tampering that he thought he had slowly peeled away after so many hours...days even, judging by the sudden surge of hunger he felt, of laboring away. He pushed the hunger away...food was an afterthought and his anger at Jormungandr's clever, clever spell was more than enough to sustain him.

He finally made his way to the hanger bay and picked a corner at random, weaving his way through the many metallic cages and obstacles in the bay to a corner that he knew was rarely used and rarely treaded upon. The brief brush of a scanning spell told him as much as he sat down and leaned against the metal walls, closing his eyes briefly and breathed out quietly, trying to tamp down on the surge of anger.

The anger would do him no good here, and was perhaps more apt to make the Midgard serpent laugh if he was watching. There had been no time to study the triggered spell, the explosion quick and calculating to prevent tampering. If he wanted to study it, he would have had to carefully pull apart the weaves once more and contain it and it was something he did not want to do at the moment.

He absently waved his fingers and conjured a bligesnipe-shaped familiar, watching it snuffle a bit, horns and scales; overall a very ugly bligesnipe as it should have been. He twitched his fingers a bit, refining its look as it snuffled up at him, seemingly wondering why it had been summoned, but he knew it was a reflection of his own state. The bligesnipe pawed at the ground, snorting a bit angrily as he finished detailing it and released the spell. At least now he would have a ghostly familiar summon that was to his standards instead of what Erikur deemed a good-shaped familiar.

Still, he could feel the anger lingering and shook his head as he pulled his legs up, knees almost to his chest and let his arms hang from them. He needed something to distract him and glanced into the pocket in-between. His tessellation was still there, a work of perfection considering he had fooled even Thanos with it until the last minute. The real Gauntlet...well...he preferred not to say where it really was. There was no work that needed to be done and he really did not want to touch the tessellation – it reminded him too much of what had happened on the Rainbow Bridge that day...

He saw the glint of an unknown modular and pulled it out, releasing the in-between spaces as he stared at the modular in his hands. He remembered that this had been Helblindi's gift in the closing moments of the treatise between the two realms, given only days ago by Ymir. He had almost forgotten about it until now. Examining it with quick twists and turns of the modular in his hands, he could clearly feel the different tingle of magicks that was surely Helblind's own in them.

At the same time, there was something familiar about it that he could not place, but decided it was something to think about later as he worked on figuring out how to peel away the modular to get at the real gift hidden inside. From his vantage point, it looked like a small claw with a tiny stone of power embedded at its tip, but Loki wasn't too sure what it was that was inside, the modular's angles warping the image a little.

“You're feeling the ghost-spell of your own on that modular,” she suddenly spoke up, but he was not surprised as he continued to play with the modular in his hands, taking one strip off while reinforcing another side.

“Hel,” he greeted absently as he felt her presence settle by his side, having seemingly appeared out of thin air. In a way, she did, her abilities to walk the shadows of Yggdrasil like he did greatly magnified because of her heritage. He had to physically rip open portals as did most others who knew how to walk the shadows. Hel's abilities were far beyond that, only _drawing_ at the shadows, enabling her to deftly leave and appear at her will with little to no announcement..

He felt her cool, lithe body leaning against his own on the right side and it only took him a moment to let old habits wash over him and cast a silent warming spell so that her so-called deathly touch did not completely freeze him. Even before he had known about his frost giant heritage, Hel always had a cool touch that seemingly wilted everything she put her finger, skin, even her dress of wailing souls to. Her appearance was that of a normal Aesir, pale skinned with strawberry-blonde hair, but her touch spoke otherwise.

“See, you knew what to do,” she said in a simple tone, her voice close to his ear, but he paid her no attention nor did he lean into it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he peeled off another skein and reinforced the opposing side.

“To visit, and to warn you,” she replied, her voice monotone, but then again Loki remembered that she never had emotions in her tone either. It was the way she had learned to speak, and because of her duties as the Queen of the Realm of the Dead. He had thought her odd when he had first met her, but had grown used to it; quickly realizing that what others perceived as apathy was most certainly not.

“The warning that Jormungandr's venom was laced with an explosive spell made by Fenrir in the beginnings of the weave would have been nice,” he replied sarcastically as he flipped the modular in his hands, frowning as he saw that he was not making any headway into unraveling it. He would have to take another approach with Helblindi's mysterious gift.

She did not answer, nor did he expect one, but he could feel her indifference in the subtle way she had dropped her body temperature against the warming spell he put up on his own skin. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her staring at the modular as he flipped it around and around, his fingers lightly testing the spots where the edges met and the small flickers of magick emanating from them as he absently tested various methods.

After several minutes of silence, she shifted her body a little, “Mother is disappointed.”

“Your mother is always disappointed,” he replied back, but did not mean the remark as a retort as she tilted her head in acknowledgement.

“She enjoyed the gift you graced her in your madness-”

“ _That_ , was not madness,” he stopped his fiddling and looked at her, her cool dead-grey eyes staring back at him through the glasses perched on her nose. “That...that was...” He stopped as grimaced and looked back at the modular in his hands, trying to think of anything but what had happened in New York City. “If your mother was disappointed then she had no one to blame but the maker of this object,” he said abruptly, changing the subject.

She reached out and plucked the modular from his hands, her spindly, almost delicate looking fingers daintily holding the modular within. She peered at it for a few seconds, “Ah...I see what it contains.” If she was someone else, Loki knew he would have saw a satisfied smile on their face, but Hel's face remained expressionless.

“Will you puzzle the riddle for me?”

She threw him a withering look, one had recognized as his own and he snorted lightly. He watched as she let the modular roll around her own fingers. He knew that she was making no attempts to puzzle it out and just wanted the tactile feeling of something in her hands, a habit she along with two others of the coterie had picked up from him during their time together.

“You have finally discovered your heritage,” she said, “now the question remains, what will you do with that?”

“Make war? Give your mother the glorious amounts of the deceased mortals she craves for?”

“You wish to usurp Thanos' position as her lover?” Hel countered and Loki looked away, gritting his teeth. “A feint and petty words are not your doing, my Prince.”

“It suits me fine,” he growled out, suddenly angry at himself for falling so easily into her worded traps.

“Yes...yes it does,” Hel leaned over to peer at him, “but I know you. I know...what lies within. The bitterness can fester, can grow, can consume. The anger, false acceptance, recompense is a facade. You-”

“If you have nothing but words, then do not speak of them,” he cut her off roughly, his fingers twitching to snatch back the modular from her fingers, but restrained himself from doing so. He did not need the childish display of dominance over her, nor did he need to show that her words were digging deep into him. But at the same time, he knew that he had revealed the turmoil within him to her with just his body language.

She dipped her head a little lower to peer up at him some more, her glasses lights off of the reflected lights of this corner of the hanger bay. He met her gaze with a square neutral one of his own-

And suddenly found his lips burning with a searing kiss that was most definitely  _not_ her own. He jerked back and felt pain bloom in the back of his head as he bumped into the metallic wall, but her lips were still pressed onto his and Loki  _recognized_ the kiss. Even though his warming spell, prevented most of her cool, deathly touch from affecting him, he had known what Hel's lips felt like – the feather-light whisper of death itself, akin to like having his own soul ripped out. But this kiss...no, this searing fiery passionate kiss that he almost-leaned into, but just restrained himself so, this belonged to someone else. He could feel  _her_ within it, reflecting off of his own warming spell, seemingly burning his own lips up, the corners of his mouth, edges of skin about to crackle-

And just as suddenly the magick disappeared, leaving Hel's cool lips over his own and Loki gasped, sucking in a breath in between his teeth, feeling the chill melt all the way down to his bones, freezing him in place. But it only lasted another second before his warming spell returned as Hel allowed her magicks to disappear, having overpowered his own in his initial surprise.

She drew back and peered up at him, the ghost of a smile on the corner of her lips, a mimicry of what she aped from mortals and from others of the realms.

Loki tasted a bit of a coppery taste in his mouth and reached up to touch the bottom of his lip and it came away tinted in a little blood. “She really did that?” he asked, surprised at how  _hoarse_ his voice was.

“The mirror shows all, my Prince,” Hel continued to look at him, “and thus does not lie.” Loki cast a quick healing spell, as it healed the minor wound and shook his head as she continued, “I was instructed to do so the next I met you.”

“And how is she?” he asked, unable to keep the sardonic smile off of his face. He had almost forgotten about Hel's greatest ability.

Hel's forte in all of the magicks of the cosmos was her ability to mirror, or mimic the spells of others back at the casters. It was because of her position as the Queen of Helheim, but also because of whom her mother was. If the magicks mortal beings, himself included, wielded was considered life, then hers was the exact opposite, death – and so what had been called mirror magick. It was also what enabled her to cross the shadows of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, the Life Tree. It had taken him years of study to master it and even now, he knew that he could only transport himself and barely one other person, whereas she used it to shepherd the souls of the dead to her realm.

“Sig-”

“Do not say her name, not when you walk so openly amongst-”

“I am cloaked from Heimdall's gaze, my Prince. You, however, have not,” she leaned back and leaned next to him again.

“I wonder why,” he replied a little dryly.

“Do you regret what we have become that badly, my Prince?”

He did not answer her as she leaned her head against his shoulder once more. She sighed, a very mortal sigh and played with a ringlet of her strawberry blonde hair, looking for all the world, a young woman barely out of adolescence.

“She is well,” she finally said before shifting a little, “As for the others you so wonder since all of this began, they are all but gone from my sight. I have kept her as promised and her alone. Perhaps for some sense of an attempt to be more like your kind.” She handed the modular back to him, dropping it unceremoniously into his limp hands.

He picked it up and rolled it around his hands, not quite staring at it, but at the same time his mind absently began to puzzle it once more.

“Your mother understands what had happened?”

“Yes,” Hel replied, “but you knew what had happened when the pact was made with him. It was one of the lessons learned under mother's tutelage.”

“Then why is she disappointed?”

Hel laughed, a bitter sound, but Loki knew it was anything but, “Could she not see her favorite student once in a while?”

“I rather like living,” he turned his head a little to stare at her and saw her tilt her head in acknowledgment, “and if she wanted me to visit, all she had to do was to send you with the message to meet her on your realm.”

“Even if it was against your father's-”

“Odin is not my father-”

“Even if it was against the Allfather's explicit orders? And he is your father whether you deny it or not.”

He ignored her last jab and shook his head, “I would have found a way.”

She nodded, “You always do, my Prince.” There was a moment of quiet before she shifted again, her dress echoing a little, seemingly sending the silent howls of the damnned across the room. “Will you give up what is most precious?” she asked quietly, changing the subject once again.

“My life?”

“Will you give up what is most precious to you?” she peered at him again and this time Loki knew that she was asking as both Death's daughter and as the Queen of Helheim.

“Have I not given up what is most precious?” he countered and she smiled faintly as her dead-grey eyes spoke their silent negative to his counter question, before leaning back against him.

“Then no...I do not have a solution to your geas problem with Thanos,” she replied before taking the modular from his hands once more, “I will give you a token of my affection though.”

“How generous of you,” he countered, “your...'affection'.”

“It is what words have been put into the mouths of babes borne before the cosmos,” she shrugged, “you of all people should know, after all, my mother deigned to teach you, something she has never done outside of her daughters.”

“Or Thanos?” he narrowed his eyes a little and she stared at him with a neutral expression.

“I not care for what my mother's lover does with her knowledge spoken in the drawn covers of starlight and of whispered secrets,” she met his stare squarely, the implication that he had told Thanos some of the spellwork and knowledge he had learned from Death herself, falling squarely on him and him alone. He looked away, glaring down at the modular now back in her spindly fingers. He had foolishly given secrets like walking the shadows of Yggdrasil and of cloaking oneself from Heimdall's gaze to Thanos like it was nothing precious – _but it had been precious, ripped, bargained for...a promise..._ There had to be more secrets given up during that year of absolute darkness and emptiness, but Loki did not want to stare into the abyss, did not want to remember it. It was too-

“And yet, you do not have a solution-”

“Oh, I do,” she replied, “but you will not give up what is most precious to you.”

He opened his mouth to argue that he valued his life above everything else before closing it and gave her a sideways glare. Her wordplay was not as strong as his own, but he could clearly feel the thrum of magicks weighted behind them and knew that she was digging. The thought occurred to him – if she had already denied that his life was what he valued the most, then what was most precious to him? Closing his mouth, he shook his head and ignored her baited question. He still had not been able to puzzle out whether or not she was rebelling alongside Jormungandr and Fenrir or was clearly a wild card in all of this. At the very least, she at least  _knew_ of the poison that Jormungandr used since she had given Dr. Banner the venom to make his anti-venom.

Hel smiled briefly before holding out the modular to him. “Mirror.”

“Pardon?” he blinked before he suddenly felt the warming spell grow a little too hot and knew she had all but disappeared. He released the warming spell as he picked up the modular that had fallen to the ground just as he heard a pair of lightly booted feet land on the ground in front of him.

“Agent Barton, I do believe that pointing an arrow at my head is hardly polite-”

“Cut the bullshit Loki, I heard you and crazy undead lady there,” he looked up and sat back as Barton, dressed in his light armor, held his composite bow and a very sharp looking arrow point straight at his face. The agent stood over him, but Loki could see that he was also more than likely to shoot him without even a single explanation. He knew he could easily dodge it and could feel the automatic tingle of magicks within him, preparing an illusion of himself sitting there while he slipped away-

“And what would you do about it?” he quashed the magicks, forcing himself to sit there, the arrowhead nearly touching his nose. It was still too easy to goad Barton into shooting him. He could practically read the unspoken hate and wish to shoot him with his arrow – no words need to be said, no threats threatened. This was not about New York, but it was more personal. There was no geas holding Barton back, nothing that had been part of agreements made previously or of now. Barton did not care.

But at the same time, Loki knew that Barton would not shoot. It was not that he  _could_ not, it was that he knew that the man with so much blood on his ledger; who had somehow decided to save Romanoff in Sao Paulo, had a shred of honor, no matter how misguided, to not shoot him.

“Why aren't you using your illusion behind me? Why aren't you fighting dirty like I know you can and will?” Barton asked after a few seconds of tense silence between them.

“And why should I stoop to your level-”

“I don't-”

“I _know_ all of your secrets, Agent,” he briefly enjoyed the way red suffused into Barton's face and saw the arrowhead waver just a little bit; the muscles in Barton's drawing arm twitching and jumping as he resisted trying to put an arrow into him.

There was an intensity to Barton's gaze for a moment that Loki met with his simple challenging one, wondering if the archer was really going to disobey orders and shoot him on sight. Finally, Barton grounded out through clenched teeth one word, “Why?”

That was a loaded question if there ever was one and both of them knew it, but Loki knew that Barton was also allowing him, however small of a measure, to answer the question as he saw fit. And if the archer was allowing him to answer the question, then Loki saw no reason not to play along – to see if the archer really could keep the tattered shreds of honor that he claimed to have; the long buried perhaps sympathetic emotions regarding the coterie that Loki knew Thor and the others must have told him by now. He knew all of Barton's history and knew that the man disliked those who were bullied, having come from a broken family background himself. Perhaps that was why he had fought so hard under his mind control spell, he was a mortal who fought hard to define himself and not to bow down to others; except in cases of people he clearly respected.

“Perhaps it is for the same reason you saved Agent Romanoff,” he decided to answer and saw Barton's eyes narrow a little, clearly unsatisfied with his answer. The arrowhead shook a little more and Loki wondered if he was going to continue with his line of questioning or even protest that the situation in which Hel and Romanoff had been compared to were completely different.

But it seemed Barton was somehow mollified or even decided not to ask his follow-up question later as he swallowed hard and forced out another question, “The fuck did she mean by 'mirror'?”

Loki wondered what Thor and the others told the remaining Avengers as he tilted his head fractionally, staring at Barton. Somehow, he got the feeling that the archer knew a little more than he had let on, perhaps out of some misguided fanciful story that Captain Rogers had said that some of the mortals had made up of them from long ago. When he had controlled Barton and picked his mind, the archer had truthfully claimed not knowing much of what they called “Norse” mythology, but now, looking at those chipped eyes, maybe he had learned something more.

Maybe it was what stayed Barton's hand at this moment, though Loki had a feeling that it was not out of a sense of pity, but rather a sense of wanting more knowledge. The knowledge he would gain would not help him nor would it help Romanoff with the poison and magicks coursing-

Loki froze, his eyes widening fractionally as he realized what Hel meant. It had been a long time since he had talked with her and he had almost not grasped the double, even triple- layers of conversation they had been having. With Hel it was always two or more separate conversations that flowed as one and most of the time, Loki knew what those lines and layers conversations meant. No one else was able to match his wordplay so well as she had, the exception was probably her sister, but she was beyond his reach for now.

So  _that_ was what she meant by giving him a token of her 'affection.'

“What...wait- Loki--!”

Loki pushed the arrowhead aside, feeling the sting of a cut draw across his palm as he scrambled to his feet and quickly headed out of the hanger bay, Barton scrabbling behind him, protests falling from his lips. He ignored the archer's spluttering as he spelled the doors to open rapidly. He charged through, his focus narrowed to reaching the labs, not caring that he made the various SHIELD personnel push against the walls of the hallways.

He flicked the door to the lab open rather violently with a quick spell before heading straight to his workstation and unceremoniously dumped the bag of healing stones onto the partially melted table. Grabbing one, he could feel the magicks coursing through it and immediately plucked the weaves apart, spreading his fingers and hands wide to shoulder length apart.

He could hear Barton's footsteps pounding in the hallway adjacent to the lab, before the archer skidded to a stop at the still open doorway, yelping as his hand found contact with the roughly opened door. Sparks hissed from ripped wires that were still active and trying to pour their power into the door he had roughly opened, but Loki pushed that extraneous thought to the side as he concentrated and grabbed the weave he had extracted from the venom with his right hand. His left holding the weave of the healing stone as well as the stone itself.

He glanced at the skeins in his right hand, studying it quickly to confirm that he knew each thread by heart before setting it back down as he distantly heard Barton muttering a few words, no doubt to call the others, he supposed. Letting out a deep breath, he got to work on the healing stone in his left hand, twisting the fine threads of magicks within, watching as the stone slowly turned from its majestic blue color, the color that soothed wounded souls and wounds itself, slowly to an inky grey-black before becoming all but a seemingly irradiated blackened lump of coal.

When he was sure of the thing he had created was complete, he crushed it into a fine powder with his hands and set it on the tabletop. The swirl of magicks twisted and lashed out, unlike the soothing magicks of a healing stone. He reached over to grab the bottle of venom and carefully drew out a single drop of the venom before placing it on top of the pile and waited.

He did not have to wait long as he saw the beginnings of a repellent magick rising up from the venom....only to be seemingly squashed by the magick of the blackened healing stone before all became quiet, leaving the single drop on the tabletop, surrounded in a small crater of the dusty remnants of the healing stone. He gathered the drop in a pocket of air and deposited gently on the silvalume that had not melted in the explosive spell.

Studying it, he could see the barrier encased in the 'mirrored' spell he had weaved within the healing stone, leaving, for all intents and purposes, just a drop of ordinary venom from an ordinary sea snake. Satisfied with his study, he took another blue-unaltered healing stone from the bag he had brought with him and got to work, his hands weaving the spell to imbue it with the mirror spell to neutralize the magicks of the barrier surrounding the venom.

“...Is that it?” Banner's quiet calm voice surprisingly did not startle him as he had not even sense the mortal walking into the lab and standing next to his half-melted station. Instead, Loki felt oddly soothed by it, glancing up for a second to see the doctor with a kindly smile on his face. The mortal looked exhausted and Loki thought he saw himself reflected off of the slightly lined, yet youthful face.

He did not answer as he looked back at his weave and put the finishing touches on the stone before holding it out to the scientist. He extended his own hand out and Loki dropped it, watching as the doctor briefly examined it and moved to his own workstation. He watched, unaware that he had held his own breath as the doctor picked up a vial of the anti-venom he had created, crushed the stone in his hand before pouring it into the vial and giving it a good shake.

Banner then took the vial and drew out several drops of the anti-venom and placed it on a small dish of reddened blood he had learned was called a petri dish. He did not know whose blood sample it was, but the result was the same. There was the swirl of volatile magicks, lighting the air briefly above the dish before it was quashed, leaving just the dish of red. The mortal scientist did not say anything as he silently took a swab of the dish before rubbing it on a small glass strip and then placed it under what he had called a microscope.

The contraption was similar to the boye and silvalume, but it seemed more inclined for organic uses instead of magical ones. Banner peered into it, a frown on his face as he adjusted the lenses, his fingers moving the glass ever so slightly. It felt like a long time before he lifted his eyes from the microscope and had a bemused expression on his face.

“It's clean...and it works...at least in this setting,” he looked at him and a hesitant grin appeared on his face, “whatever you did Loki, it works. The barrier's neutralized so the anti-venom attacked the venom and did what it was supposed to do. It didn't get destroyed at the last minute and cause an explosion or shattering of dishes and vials!”

Loki let loose the breath he did not realize he had been holding at the news, the exhaustion of working non-stop for the past three days finally hitting him as he blinked rapidly. He could suddenly feel the sandpaper-like quality of his eyes, the tugs of exhaustion creeping to the forefront... He would have returned the smile of triumph if not for Thor who's booming voice suddenly rumbled through the door to the lab.

“Then we have a cure-”

Loki's mood instantly soured as he wondered if there was not a time when Thor would interrupt the moments in his life that he wanted to savor, before brushing past the flash of irritation. He nodded curtly and quickly glanced up to see the remaining Avengers crowded by the door and beyond them, the four curious faces of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.

“Yes, we do,” he agreed curtly as he grabbed the bag of healing stones and drew out his tessellation that he had kept in the spaces in between since using it on Thanos to mimic the image, texture, and feel of the Infinity Gauntlet. Imbuing the weave that he had affected onto the stone, into the tessellation; he wrapped it around the pile of stones and set it on the unmelted part of his table.

“Let the tessellation sit until the stones are blackened before you use it on your anti-venom,” he looked at Banner who was staring at what he had done with open curiosity.

“Uh-”

“You will feel the magicks in between your fingers,” he shrugged before rounding the table and headed towards the door.

“Brother-”

“I am ready to return to Asgard to answer the Allfather's inquiries,” he said loudly as he brushed past Thor and the others and saw the Warriors Three and Lady Sif stand at attention as he made his way towards them.

“Brother- Loki-”

“Do not think to touch me unless you want another knife in between your ribs,” he hissed back as he felt Thor's presence loom behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a look pass between Sif and Thor beyond his shoulder, but was too irritated and too tired to care. “My part of the geas is finished. All the Director needs to do now is to deliver his part.”

He could feel Thor stop where he was as he walked back towards the hanger bay, the others scrambling to catch up to him. Without further flourishes, he marched to the edge of the hanger bay and turned in time to see Sif and the others jog the last few steps to join him at the edge of the Bifrost sight. Beyond them, Thor and some of the SHIELD personnel that had been watching came into the hanger bay. Loki thought he saw the man of iron hanging back and he could just make out under the shadows of the rafters Agent Barton before the howl of the Bifrost and rainbow starlight engulfed his vision, sending him back to Asgard.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the minor delay – last minute things at work and real life before the holidays. Hopefully I'll be consistently updating until the new year! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Also, Hel is awesome.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 10_

 

His ears rang with damning howls, seemingly for eternity until Loki found himself back in the familiar golden splendor of the Observatory, the mechanical whine of the Bifrost powering down. The sound was momentarily abnormally loud, echoing the leftover screams of starlight and Tesseract power. He stumbled a little, surprising himself, and Heimdall judging by the minute widening of the guardian's eyes that he saw. Glaring at the gatekeeper, he straightened and walked around the activation pedestal and towards the exit, noting that horses were waiting for their arrival. He realized he was perhaps a lot tired than he realized to have stumbled from a Bifrost travel which was the least disorienting aspect of going from realm to realm.

He saw his own familiar mount waiting for him and absently petted Svadilfari who whickered and tried to nibble at him, looking for an apple or sugar cube. Loki shook his head to the horse who stared at him before seemingly tossing his head as if to sigh a very human 'oh well.' The horse stamped at the ground, impatient to leave and he mounted him, taking the reigns from the stable boy who had looked like he had not been waiting for a long time. Around him, the others scrambled onto their mounts, but Loki paid them no attention as he set the horse in a fast canter back to the heart of Asgard.

He could hear the Warriors Three and Sif catching up behind him, matching his pace as they formed an escort formation. They arrived in short order and Loki squared his shoulders as he walked into the throne room, noting that Court was in session. From where he entered, he could barely hear that the current dispute was of more the domestic court matter, but the fact that the Allfather and Allmother were sitting meant that Heimdall had informed them of his imminent return.

Most of the time, Loki would not have wanted his mother to be there, but this time, he knew that he at least would have an ally of sorts, or at least a more sympathetic ear than Thor could ever be. Frigga  _knew_ of what had happened, and so did the Allfather, but Loki also knew that he would not allow previous happenings to color his judgment of  _current_ happenings. Unlike Thor barging in and fumbling in his attempts to request a private audience with the Allfather, Loki waited at the edges of the crowd, knowing that he would be summoned in due time, especially since a few of the courtiers saw him and started to whisper to their neighbors.

Thor's approach had been to announce his presence whereas, Loki preferred to let the whispers of his presence filter through the Court. It made for an interesting glimpse into what popular opinion held sway that day instead of making everyone fall silent with a bold announcement. Granted, a majority of the time he had been summoned, the whispers were of unfavorable opinion, but there were one or two whispers that he had heard near him that seemed to counter unfavorable opinions.

This time was no different as many of the courtiers started their whispers that he had returned; most likely to plead ignorance or innocence before coloring his words with pretty phrases. He had to smile a little at those whispers – it seemed his time amongst the courtiers standing by the Allfather's side had turned many of them cynical instead of the simpering idiots they used to be. How either would be better was not for him to decide, but he supposed that the courtiers' attitude could be worse from the outright hostility they showed when the Allfather declared no punishment for his actions a little over a year ago.

He saw the Allfather finish with his latest audience before catching his eye and summoning him with nary a quick look. Loki stepped forward and the courtiers around him parted easily, allowing him access to the front of the throne room. A few of them held their noses and Loki realized that he still carried the smell of burnt magicks and metal and parts of his clothing was still covered in soot and small burns when the venom had previously exploded. Though he prided himself on his appearance, he also knew that by appearing a bit disheveled, it would be to his advantage. Let the Court whisper of the burns and appearance that he had been conducting another one of his experiments; it only served to prove his innocence in the long run – that he had helped create a cure for the mortals on Midgard.

“You have returned, Prince Loki,” the Allfather announced in his quiet voice, letting it echo and silence the Court once more.

“Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were kind,” he shot them a quick half-grin to which all glared at him in return, “enough to escort me from Midgard.” He did a quick search of the Allfather's stony features, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but could not read him. It was perhaps a lot more serious than what he had pulled from Sif and the others regarding the situation here. But the fact that Heimdall had not wrought a new hole into the Helicarrier to carry him back to Asgard in the three days since he had been summoned meant that perhaps the seriousness only was within the Court itself – which was a mob-like thought process.

A quick glance at the Allmother told him nearly the same story, though her face was lined with what he thought was a tinge of sadness. Sadness for him, or for something else, he still could not identify until he realized a second later that speaking of the cure would not help his cause. The mob that was the Court had already decided that he, with his past associations with the coterie, was guilty of freeing three of them to attack Midgard. He knew from years at the Court and from Thor's recent tales at feasts, that the Court did not care one wit about the affairs of mortals and Midgard. But in this case, it did not matter since they believed that  _his_ associations with the coterie were far greater in 'sin' than Thor's misguided adventures with the mortals.

The Allfather lifted a single finger before several guards approached the throne from the side and dumped a wreath of heavy chains that echoed loudly against the floor of the throne room. Loki stared at the chains for a moment, recognizing them as the ones who held Fenrir to his prison. They were obviously broken judging by the twisted wrought iron and he lifted his hand towards it. So far, the Allfather had made no accusations nor did he say anything else, so Loki decided to treat it as if he was still standing by his side, thinking of strategies where none would think of.

He spelled the chains, scanning it and a rueful smile appeared on his face as he recognized the rebound spell as his own work...except, it was not exactly his. Knowing what he knew now, thanks to Hel's generous offer, he could see the minute skeins that made up the mirror aspect of his magick reflected from the chains itself. No one, save for one who knew what they were looking for, could see it...which meant if the Allfather had not accused him outright and instead had just wanted to question it, he had  _known_ .

But the real question was: if he had known, why summon him back here?

Surely the Allfather was not blind to the derision Loki loved to inflict upon the idiotic courtiers, to make them think instead of being a sycophantic mob who only thought of the warrior's life. The Allfather was not as sentimental as Thor to think that he needed the support of the Court – the battle with Thanos and the fact that he had  _known_ about Thanos, about  _everything_ there was and had  _planned_ , or at least tried to plan for contingencies – Loki shook his head inwardly.

Still, he suppose the only way he would be able to find out what the Allfather was planning – always constantly planning – would be to state the truth plain and simple. The Allmother at least would be able to provide some insight, having no part in trying to place plans within plans. Loki knew that Frigga had the capability to do so, but he thought her too gentle and too motherly to do something like that to her own sons. At least that was a part of the sentimentality he could count on – and aptly applied to Thor who always thought with a warrior's mind.

“Hel's mirror spell is traceable on these chains,” he stated, releasing his scanning spell and stood loosely with his hands by his side. He heard the Court murmur amongst themselves and smiled a little, “Of course, those who cannot understand what such a spell does will not understand what had happened and blame others for the misfortune of having Fenrir escape.”

He saw his mother frown and shake her head a little at his jab towards the courtiers, but duly ignored her. The Allfather had not given any indication for him to stop so Loki continued his explanation, still unable to fathom the reason of why he had been summoned back. “It is sufficient to say that the Lady Hel also released Jormungandr from his watery prison.”

“Is it defiance?” the Allfather cut in quietly and Loki briefly glanced up, but saw no other emotion to indicate what kind of question or even if it was an accusation towards Loki in regards to Hel's actions and he shrugged.

“Perhaps,” he paused for a moment to think. Hel's actions certainly were unpredictable and there had to be a reason why she had freed Fenrir and Jormungandr here and now. She had hundreds of years to do so, but the singular reason why now still bothered him. She had never openly defied the Allfather nor had gone against her duties as the Queen of Helheim, but at the same time, one could not consider this a 'rebellion' of sorts to the Allfather's command and punishment for her.

There were only three people in the whole of the realm who knew of what happened in the throne room that fateful day and it was something that Loki did not want to revisit. How much the Allmother knew was still up for speculation as she never talked about it, but Loki knew that she had some inkling of what happened, even if she had been severely injured and somewhat unconscious in the aftermath. The coterie's plan, if it was anything like that, should have succeeded except for one glaring obstacle...him.

Jormungandr and Fenrir should have easily taken down the Warriors Three and Lady Sif when he had all but abandoned them in the middle of their quest. A part of him had felt guilty for leaving them to face the two, especially Fenrir, but at the same time, he had cursed himself for being so naive to not realize the truth of the plan. He had made it barely in time to stop the rest of the coterie from enacting regicide; even if it was a twisted plan to install him as ruler of Asgard.

A quick covert glance up at the Allfather with his stony look and unmoving countenance, made Loki realize that the whole purpose of the Allfather summoning him back was, in a way, to protect him. A very large part of him sneered inwardly that he did not need the Allfather's protection, he was capable of handling the current situation by himself. The other smaller part of himself felt odd that the Allfather would do such a thing. The Court itself had already judged him guilty, their opinions of his coterie, his actions outweighing what Thor and his mortals' did-

Wait a minute. There was a piece he knew he was missing. Something that did not make sense.

“Why attack the mortals...” he murmured quietly, mostly to himself. Everyone knew he had no love for them, frankly he did not really care for them – after all he had tried to conquer and subjugate them if the Chitauri given to him by the Other working for Thanos-

_That_ was it. Thanos.

He flicked another look at the Allfather and saw that he had mistaken the stoniness on his face as indifference. The stoniness was not just that, it was a clear mask of anger. Not directed at him, but directed at this whole thing. The Allfather was clearly angry that the remains of Loki's coterie had been freed, but the anger was directed deeper into what was clearly about Thanos.

So then what-

Ah...Loki was starting to see the whole of the apple of Idunn. Hel had been talking in double-triple conversation, but there had been a fourth whisper underneath when she had been talking to him regarding Thanos. She had given more than just the offer of her mirror magick. Like her constant unpredictability and seemingly indifference to plans and plots the rest of the coterie had spawned, she had given information freely to him as well as to those she considered under her favor – which made her unpredictable in the first place.

All of this led back to Thanos. It was easy to piece together the whole of Thanos' latest plot, even if he was still trapped in the Tesseract's eternal prison. His lover was Death and Death's daughter was Hel. Hel had obliquely mentioned something about her mother, and Loki's teacher, missing him, but in reality was perhaps missing Thanos. Perhaps she missed the numerous corpses he piled in front of her for his offerings, or perhaps it was something else, but Hel had bidden as her mother had most likely ordered, free the remaining coterie to wreck havoc and eventually kill him.

Loki was sure that the remaining coterie was after him, after all, he had been at their sentencing and they knew who had disrupted their plot and left them all to face Asgardian justice. Sending him to Death, their mutual teacher, and from there most likely to Thanos was the easiest way for them to get their revenge. Vali, Narfi, Angroboda were dead and he knew how close Jormungandr and Fenrir were to them.

But he still felt like he was missing a larger piece of the puzzle. Something in this did not make sense. It was easy to target the mortals, after all, they had done so during their time together; mostly harmless pranks or as Faendral had once pointed out, some display to make the mortals worship them if only for a little while as gods. Hel, in her position should have known by talking with the escorted dead, that he held no love for the mortals. So why would Jormungandr target the mortals, and even align himself with whomever this HYDRA faction was? Clearly HYDRA was related to the soldier Captain Rogers as he remembered picking Agent Barton's mind about. Bothering mortals was more for Thor's-

Loki's thoughts screeched to a halt the last of the pieces fell into place and something ugly wormed its way into the pits of his stomach, souring the taste in his mouth. He would not have named it fear if it was not for the realization of the coterie's goal.

Jormungandr was was clever in his own right, but his older brother Fenrir was far more clever. It had to be Fenrir's idea and like always, his younger brother went along with it – it had to be, he reasoned silently to himself. After all, why align oneself with a nearly-dead faction if not to get to Captain Rogers. And at the same time, take out the one who was more than likely to realize the truth behind the plot, Agent Romanoff?

He sucked in a quick breath in between his teeth as his mind raced with the possibilities. Fenrir must have known, must have been hidden amongst SHIELD for several months, if not immediately after he had been revived by Helblindi and Thanos imprisoned in the Tesseract. Fenrir's greatest strength was his illusionary magick, his ability to not cloak himself in the shadows, but to blend in like he belonged. It had been the only reason why Loki had discovered the original plot of regicide in the first place, planned and executed behind his back so long ago.

Hel must have freed him first, allowed him to gather intelligence and information regarding the mortals who so handily defeated him, defeated the Chitauri, and ultimately helped stop Thanos. From there, Fenrir had most likely set in motion Jormungandr's part of the plan, driving the mortals to distraction, while he waited to make his move-

It was almost instinct and daresay fueled by a healthy dose of fear, but Loki would completely deny it that he had ripped open a portal into the shadows of Yggdrasil for Thor's sake. No, it was for his own sake that Fenrir not be allowed to get to Thor.

_Iwillprotecthimforthefearofdeathisnothing..._

“Loki!”

He did not meet the Allfather's gaze and instead reacted to his mother's, giving her a hard look at her outburst. “Fenrir is after Thor.”

_ButIfearforwhatThanoswoulddotohimhecannotbeallowedIwillnotallowit..._

He could hear the swell of murmurs and cries of the Court behind him, the distant scrambling of Sif and the others racing back towards the Bifrost, their armor clattering noisily as the mounted their horses and charged off. He heard the caw of Muugin and Huugin flying from their perches, no doubt to warn Heimdall with all haste – but as Loki stepped through into the darkness and abyss, he knew that they would be too late-

_ThorwillnotdieIwillnotlethimdieIwillprotecthim_

-and stepped into the metallic hanger bay of the Helicarrier. There was only a moment to take a breath before guns were drawn and all pointed at his face.

* * *

His brother had only returned for a few minutes, talking about drawing out Fenrir when the intruder appeared out of thin air. Thor summoned Mjolnir without even a second thought and gripped it tightly in his hand. He looked exactly like Loki who stood next to him, hands raised defensively, the faint glow of magicks on his fingertips. Thor was about to strike when Fury's hand suddenly lashed out, stopping him.

“Hold your fire!”

“Director-” Thor paused as he _felt_ it. The distinct magicks of an open portal into the shadows of Yggdrasil like he had felt in London. He did not know how to explain how he felt it, he just did even though he could not hear the whispers.

“Loki- don't-” he reached out and stopped his brother from reacting by placing his hammer across his path and out of the corner of his eye saw him give a dirty look to him.

“It is clearly Fenrir who is wearing my skin-”

“Who the hell are you and why the hell do you look like him?!” Fury jerked a thumb back at Loki who looked annoyed.

“Because he's Fenrir-” his brother started next to him, but was cut off by his doppelgänger.

“Well...this is certainly expected,” the _other_ Loki replied as he lifted a hand and gestured with his eyes to what was perhaps an open portal, “may I, before the shadows continue to speak and _Fenrir_ over there, escapes?” Without a second thought and so very like Loki himself, Thor watched as he drew a blue-glowing line down the middle before turning back to them, his hands held loosely in front of him.

He twisted Mjolnir a little as he darted a quick look at his brother who stood next to him. He did not want to doubt that this was his brother, but at the same time, he had to admit that the one standing several feet away had already acted in an eerie manner similar to what he expected Loki to act.

“I do not expect you to believe me,” his brother had caught his look and threw a sideways glare at him.

“I believe you,” he replied a little defensively and hurt that Loki had dismissed his concerns so easily, “that is Fenrir?”

“If he chooses to reveal himself, yes,” Loki replied tightly, “his illusion spells are the best.”

“Yes they are,” his doppelgänger echoed, seemingly nonplussed with all of the guns SHIELD had trained on him. Thor noticed that even without his armor Tony Stark had fallen into a defensive battle stance. “Why hold your fire, Director?” Loki's double turned to face Director Fury, his voice mild.

“For one thing, both of you arrived out of thin air,” Fury replied before glancing over to them, “at least that's what he's claiming.”

“And the other?” Loki lowered his hands a little, seemingly mirroring the calm stance that his doppelgänger had taken on, but Thor read the fine tension in his muscles, ready to strike even if he was seemingly standing down. He glanced across to his brother's look-a-like and saw that the other was also tense and ready to strike. There was no reason not to believe that the one standing next to him was Loki, but it seemed that Director Fury thought otherwise...either that, the man was as calculating as the Allfather, as Thor had found out at times.

“I'm presuming geas effects don't translate across doubles, right?” Fury's voice had a hint of dark humor in them and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother shake his head a little, a small mirthless grin on his lips. Surprisingly the other one also was shaking his head and had nearly the same smile on his face.

“How little you know of geas, Director-”

“-my part of the bargain has been completed and so your attempts to use it against me is futile,” his brother finished his double's sentence for him, “for instance, you have not delivered Jormungandr.”

The effect was instantaneous as Fury visibly grimaced, his grip on his gun tightening and wavering in the double's face. But at the same time Thor caught the flash of a frown on the double's face. He thought it was because his brother had answered and had activated the geas' truth within him, but realized that the frown was one of surprise – that he had not expected Loki to use the geas' power. Thor shot a quick look at his brother standing next to him and thought he saw the small mirthless grin grow just a little wider – or was it his imagination?

No...he could not doubt that the person standing next to him was his brother – yet...he could not but  _doubt_ that it was not his brother. There was no Bifrost sign of Loki's return just a few minutes before the doppelgänger appeared and Thor knew that his brother had the ability to walk the shadows of Yggdrasil. But at the same time he also knew that his brother did not open the shadows so lightly anymore, not after Thanos. He had never asked why, but after hearing the  _whispers_ of what the shadows had said when Thanos crossed them, the unyielding fear within them, he supposed that Loki would not cross them even with Thanos gone.

But the one who appeared before them had crossed it and Thor saw lines of exhaustion on his face. Dark circles were gathered under his eyes, but those eyes were still sharp and calculating, awake in the presence of a threat – a threat that he believed to be Fenrir standing next to Thor.

“But we shall see to the delivery of Jormungandr after dealing with Fenrir here,” Loki's double spoke up and the grimacing pain disappeared from Fury's face as he massaged his chest a little and stared at him.

“I'm almost inclined to believe you're the real Loki except, he wouldn't have stopped the geas' effects-”

“Come now, Director, I do have some self-preservation instincts,” Loki's double replied with a quick humorless smile, “after all, if _Fenrir_ there, walked the shadows as he has claimed, he should know what the shadows say?”

“And why would I speak of the shadows?” Loki countered, his eyes narrowing a little in anger, “it would only serve to prove nothing. Thor would not know, the mortals would not understand-”

“The mortals would understand if they were to know that _you_ have come here to kill Thor,” his double countered, his voice tight with anger, “that all of this was to break Thanos free from his prison!”

There was a moment of tense silence before Loki spoke up, his voice soft and dangerous, “And there you have proven you are _not_ me...”

Thor was about to agree when he frowned, “...No...”

He absently chewed his lower lip as he thought rapidly. Yes the Loki that had appeared suddenly before them was acting quite contrary to what he knew his brother to act; especially in regards to information he _knew_ from a lifetime of knowing his brother that he would never share so readily and so publicly. Loki, like him in ways, did not care to air certain subjects in front of the mortals – but their reasoning had always been different, Thor knew that. He disliked saying things that would compromise what he deemed the integrity of Asgard and also of private matters that was between the Allfather and the royal family. Loki disliked mentioning certain subjects if only for the fact that he believed the mortals would not understand and thus was a waste of his breath.

He caught the tight look of anger and barely hidden hurt in his brother's eyes, but refused to allow the pang of apology show on his own face. This was a dangerous situation and he knew that he needed to keep his composure, especially in light of the doppelgänger's words.

In ways, he knew that his brother, standing right next to him, was right – that Loki would never have spoken of Thanos so flippantly – that this was an assassination attempt by Fenrir on his life. But at the same time, he also knew that his brother would say  _anything_ in regards to Thanos, even if he was imprisoned, to ensure that the Mad Titan would  _stay_ imprisoned. Perhaps there was the drop of truth in those words that Fenrir, in the guise of Loki, was here to kill him. The question was.... “Why?” he wondered out loud.

“Because-”

“Why not you, brother? Why me?” he turned to face him, seeing the anger, the hurt, but the pain in them of his doubts by questioning him. It was hard to keep his resolve in light of the suffering he had seen with his own eyes – the flash of black stitching across Loki's lips in that terrifying battle – and the knowledge that Loki had suffered terribly while all had thought him dead in the year he had been gone.

A quick glance at his doppelgänger across the hanger bay showed nearly the same emotions, but some how, they seemed a little more restrained on the doppelgänger's face. A worm of doubt wiggled its way into the pit of his stomach as he glanced between them. Fenrir, which ever one was Fenrir, was clever enough to know his brother's emotions...and the gravity of the situation grew heavier in Thor's mind. A battlemage with this much power, to impersonate his brother so convincingly...

“Maybe because Loki did orchestrate this whole thing, after all, he was talking with Hel before he made his supposed-breakthrough with the cure,” Barton's voice spoke up from the rafters of the hanger bay and Thor looked up to see if the archer would show himself, but saw nothing except for what may have been the small glint of an arrowhead pointed at him – no, pointed at Loki who was next to him.

Silence reigned for a moment in the hanger bay before Thor realized that Barton spoke the truth. Disappointment filled him and he turned to his brother, the grip on his hammer tightening. “Is it true? You spoke to Hel? You orchestrated this?”

“Of course I spoke to her!” his brother snarled at him, but kept his eyes strictly on his doppelgänger, “Hel is a wild card, free to give information to whomever she wants-”

“Her punishment-”

“And _what_ would you know of her punishment?” Loki cut him off, “the sentencing was done in a private audience.”

Thor gritted his teeth, frustration filling him as he turned and nearly reached out to grab Loki by his shoulder, to shake and demand answers, but restrained himself from doing so. The constant warnings from Loki that he would receive a knife in the ribs for any manhandling actions echoed in his head, but also the fact that he _would_ get a knife in his ribs for his actions because of the possibility that this was _not_ his brother, stayed his hand.

“Then tell me Loki, did you orchestrate all of this?!”

His brother stared at him and Thor saw an instance of all of the words his brother may say, but they passed quickly before he shook his head, “No.”

Thor wanted to say that he was mollified by his brother's answer, but something still bothered him. He glanced at the doppelg ä nger whose face looked like it could have been carved out of stone and back at his brother. Something still did not add up...and he realized what was truly bothering him. All of the answers given by both amounted to  _nothing_ . There was nothing that was spoke that could be countered by the other with knowledge gained from Hel in her duties as the shepherd of the dead or by somehow reading SHIELD's files. The fact that Fenrir, which ever one was him, had clearly known about the geas on Director Fury meant that he had been on the Helicarrier for some time, which also meant that he had access to SHIELD's personnel files...

It was also then that Thor finally realized what was making Director Fury hesitate to shoot the doppelgänger. He had figured it out long before him that one of the two  _was_ Fenrir, but like him, could not tell. Fury had realized long before him that Fenrir must have been on the Helicarrier long enough to pick up on Loki's mannerisms and reactions to others.

He also realized to his chagrin that Fury had been  _hoping_ that he, being Loki's brother, was able to differentiate between which one was the fake and which one was real. And it was something that Thor was ashamed to realize that he could not tell...at least not at the moment. Just how far had he drifted away from his brother to not know him at the moment? No wonder both wore looks of deep resentment and hurt, but...he had thought that was directed at something else.

He realized it was the doubts growing within him since he had speculated that Jormungandr had escaped his prison and was with HYDRA. The doubt that his brother had nothing to do with this – that he had not freed his coterie and aligned with them. He knew that to make any vow to trust his brother from now on was an empty promise even though a part of him yearned for it. He  _wanted_ to trust his brother, wanted to believe him; after all, Loki had sacrificed so much against Thanos, and he wanted his brother to know that he was there for him. Yet...

In a twisted way he realized that his distrust in Loki at the moment was what had most likely stayed Fenrir's hand – which ever one of them was Fenrir. Fenrir, which ever one, was counting on his blind trust, his faith to turn his back and let him sink the killing blow into him. Thor could not show that blind trust to his brother because  _he knew him_ . Loki loved to play pranks, loved to trick people, loved to belittle and lord his superiority over them. He was not blind to the implications of those traits, not after his brother had fallen from the Bifrost of his own accord. In a twisted way, it was Loki who had shown him how devious, how conniving he could be and in this case, Thor was more aware of it – even though he wanted to believe otherwise.

This was his  _brother_ after all.

“I...want to trust your words, brother,” he replied softly to Loki's negative, “but...I cannot.”

The reaction was instantaneous as he saw a mixture of  _pride_ and hurt flit across the doppelgänger's face while Loki next to him looked more  _angry_ and hurt by his answer. Renewed doubts washed over him as he contemplated this change in reaction between the two, but was quashed as the doppelgänger spoke up across the hanger bay.

“You would be the fool I had always taken you for if you trusted me wholeheartedly,” he said quietly.

“Then why does Thanos wish me dead?” he looked between the two again and saw the shuttering of emotions behind both of their eyes. Which ever one was Fenrir, he was very good at mimicking his brother in his most closed state. The unspoken question of why would Thanos kill him instead of killing Loki hung in the air. It was not that he wished death upon his brother – once was enough, especially since he had cradled him in his last breaths – and it was something he never wanted to happen again.

“Because you are the favored son,” Loki spoke up next to him, his voice monotone, with the hint of bitterness that Thor remembered him speaking with on the mountaintop of the Alps.

Thor opened his mouth to counter that statement before he realized that from his brother's perspective it was true, not for its simplistic truth, but for other reasons as well. While it was obvious that he was the Crown Prince, the heir to the throne that his brother had wanted – perhaps even still wanted now, though he did not know – he realized that on a personal level, Odin Allfather would do  _anything_ to prevent his death. It was the Allfather who had imbued Mjolnir with a spell to restore his powers when he became worthy of the hammer. The Allfather had sent him to Midgard at the cost of dark energy to deal with Loki and the Chitauri because he had begged him to do so.

And it was then that he realized that Allfather allowed his adventures with the mortals instead of demanding he become king of the realms at the moment because he wanted to protect him. His death by Fenrir's hands would not send him to Valhalla if Death had her wish. Instead, he would be given to Thanos in this twisted plot. If he ended up in the Tesseract prison with the Mad Titan, the most likely scenario would force the Allfather to release Thanos in exchange for his and Asgard's favored son.

But at the same time there was something contradictory about that statement as he glanced at Loki. “It may be true, but it is also false.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw the doppelgänger across the hanger bay start at his words, surprised by them.

“Thanos may bargain for his release with my life if I was to be delivered to him, but why not....” he trailed off as he pieced together why would Fenrir kill him instead of Loki.

There had to be a reason why his brother was not to be touched by the others and it had to do with Thanos. He knew the Mad Titan was furious with his brother; after all he had thwarted him at the very last second with the Infinity Gauntlet and had even claimed his vengeance with a thrown dagger before being imprisoned in the Tesseract. The obvious target of his vengeance should have been Loki if he had been planning this since his imprisonment, but he had deigned the coterie to go after Thor. So then why was he keeping Loki alive?

There was no need to when he could inflict horrific tortures upon his brother after he had died and was delivered to Thanos by Death. Except...

Thor canted his head a little as he remembered what had happened on the Bifrost – he had seen his brother seemingly unable to resist the commands, almost as if moving on puppet strings. He had been  _willing_ , even compelled to stop him from attacking Thanos with Mjolnir. Dr. Banner and even Jane Foster had spoken of Loki trying to break free, trying to stop the destruction of the Helicarrier by telling Thanos that the mortals were worthy of such a death.

He knew his brother to be stubborn and bullheaded to resist doing anything he did not want to, but when Thanos had appeared, it was as if he had been compelled,  _forced_ , to perform actions he clearly – or at least it seemed to Thor – did not want to. He did not know of any other technology or even through his limited knowledge of magicks-

“...You are under a geas...” he whispered, almost to himself, but in the stillness of the hanger bay it was heard by everyone.

“He's...what?” Stark echoed, blinking once in disbelief. “But...how? I mean...he's acted like his normal self, well you know, non-psychotic-oh-I'm-going-to-kill-you self, so how the hell-”

“I'm guessing the whole falling down dead if you don't fulfill the geas thing is the reason why geas' aren't enacted that much, right?” Fury asked, but received no reply except for stony looks from both, “so probably if you drop dead of a different accord, the geas stays with you until you fulfill your side of the bargain...or you just drop dead from that.”

“But...I mean, so for all we know, he could have freed them-”

“No...” Thor shook his head, cutting the man of iron off gently, “I do not know much about geas or geas contracts, but my brother has not acted...” He grimaced a little, “In such a manner that is not him until Thanos had shown up in both cases...”

The implication that it was the primary reason that Loki was not targeted hung in the air, but Thor saw no reaction from either one. One would have taken the lack of reaction as not being true, but Thor knew his brother enough that the lack  _of_ a reaction was telling in of itself. He grimaced inwardly – the fact that Loki had enacted a  _geas_ with Thanos was bad enough, but added to the possibility that if Thanos got free, he would  _use_ his brother once more in such horrific manner – it made him furious. Furious not only for what Thanos would do to his brother or what he would force his brother to do, but furious at Loki for enabling it in the first place.

He opened his mouth to say that his brother had brought this upon himself in the first place, but closed it when he realized that he too was to blame. The blame could not be traced to its origin point since he could easily blame himself for forcing Loki onto this path – if he had been quicker in saving him from plunging off the Bifrost; if he had been clever enough to realize his brother's plans in the first place...if, if, if...

He, Thor, might have been the primary reason why Jormungandr had attacked the mortals through HYDRA, why Fenrir was poised to assassinate him, but it was ultimately Loki who was the target of Thanos' revenge.

“Seems like you've always managed to piss off the biggest boot to kick over the ant hill,” Fury commented softly, “and I'm guessing this isn't the first time.”

“Perceptive, Director,” Loki replied quietly next to Thor, flashing a teeth-filled smile at the Director who returned one with equal aplomb.

“This still doesn't get us anywhere,” Stark cut in, his voice tight as he glanced back and forth between the two, “and I'm willing to bet 'Twenty Questions' isn't going to cut, so-”

“Uh...whoa...” Dr. Banner's quiet exclamation from the door made everyone turn and stare back at the entryway that led deeper into the Helicarrier, or more specifically, led to the medical bay section of the floating ship. Surprised silence reigned in the hanger bay for a few seconds before Fury cleared his throat, his gun still pointed at Loki's doppelgänger.

“Doctor, you might want to remove yourself from this situation-”

“But _she_ told me that I was needed down here-”

“Who?”

The last question was from Stark who had taken a defensive step towards the mild-manner scientist, as if to protect him from any untoward action by either Loki or his doppelgänger. Thor, however, was confused as to why Banner had arrived. He was sure that the SHIELD agents up on the bridge of the Helicarrier were well aware of what was going on down here and had taken measures to prevent anyone else from coming down to the hanger bay.

However, all of that was secondary as he caught the triumphant gleam in the doppelgänger's eyes while Loki had wary ones. The fact that his double knew something by the doctor's arrival made Thor grip his hammer tighter and ready himself-

Banner pointed at Loki who stood next to Thor, “Uh...who are you?”

-and that was when chaos exploded.

* * *

Loki had only been able to take two steps forward when Fenrir seemingly teleported behind Banner and held him hostage. His forearm was across the mortal's neck, his other hand digging into his hair, bending his head forward a little, a classic neck-breaking hold. The guns that had been trained on him were all now trained on Fenrir and Banner and Loki saw his own image slowly dissolving away, the spell useless in wake of Banner's identifying question.

Furious, chipped ice blue eyes met his own as Loki remembered and recognized the still ethereal quality that set Fenrir apart from the rest of the coterie. Before he had joined the coterie, Loki had heard rumors that Fenrir had a budding career as a mercenary wetworker, using his looks to woo many of his targets before killing them. Adding his mastery of illusion magicks had increased his capabilities to the point where he had always scouted for the coterie or was their chief infiltrator in many of their adventures.

“I _will_ kill him,” Fenrir's voice was as light as Loki remembered from so long ago. It was still filled with bitterness, anger, but he also could hear desperation in them and smiled.

“If you had all of this time to read SHIELD's files, then you should know who you hold hostage,” his smile grew a little wider as Fenrir pressed his lips together in anger.

“Even if he managed to transform-”

Loki realized that he had never seen Banner transform into the green monster the others called the Hulk. He had thought it a long arduous process, especially since he had only heard the roar of anguish in the bowels of the Helicarrier when Barton had attacked it over a year ago under his command. He knew that the green monster was faster than he looked and certainly held his own weight against Thor matching him strength for strength. But Loki never knew how  _fast_ the Hulk was, nor Banner for that matter, until now.

Fenrir had not even finished his threat when he was suddenly yanked by the back of his collar by a giant green blur and unceremoniously smashed into the hanger bay ground. Said green blur roared as he stomped on the crater several times before reaching down and picking up the limp body once more and threw it several feet away, smashing it twice more into the ground stomping on it each time, creating new craters before huffing an animalistic sigh and stepping back, a frown on its face.

“No kill Hulk,” the green giant growled into the stunned silence of the hanger bay before he seemingly spotted Thor and marched over. Loki stepped back quietly, wanting not to attract the attention of the monster who had pounded him into the ground of Stark Tower nearly the same way. He watched, a little bit baffled and a little relieved that this time, he was not the ragdoll to the Hulk's rampage, as his brother seemingly grinned and patted the Hulk in the arm. The pats were returned with a little more force than what was given.

The faint sucking sound of a breath made him turn back to see the shallow rise and fall of Fenrir's chest, still alive after all of that. He walked over, reaching the edge of the small cratered pit before the SHIELD agents had begun to react to surround the pit. Leaning down a little, he let the faint amused smile appear on his face.

“One thing not noted in SHIELD's vaunted files is that Dr. Banner has incredible self-preservation instincts,” he murmured quietly and saw the those icy-blue eyes turn slowly towards him-

Maybe it was the fact that he had no sleep for the past three days; had walked the shadows of Yggdrasil to reach Thor; or perhaps it was the Bifrost's scream signaling the arrival of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif – or a combination of all factors that Loki belatedly realized he had made a fatal error.

-His arm suddenly burned in an incredible sharp pain as muscle and sinew were torn apart by the force of a blue-black dire wolf's jaw on it, nearly ripping it from its socket. A hissing sound filled his ears before he realized it was his own voice nearly releasing a scream combined with something  _dissolving_ on his arm- No, it was his  _arm_ that was dissolving, the angry howling roar muffled as he smelled the sharp scent of  _animal._ He suddenly found himself flying through the air and crashed heavily into the side of the quinjet, the pain exploding in the back of his head and arms. He felt the cloths of his tunic and overcoat rip and shred before he found himself staring  _up_ at the remains of a metal-jagged thing. Sparking wires hissed their anger as he forced himself to breathe-

And gagged, coughing at the shooting white-hot pain that traveled across his body. He could hear the howl of the dire wolf close by, echoing and reverberating through the hanger bay as he winced and tried to move, forcing himself to sit up. Gunfire and shouts followed by the zapping sound of Mjolnir echoed after the howl as Fenrir had shapeshifted to his wolf-form. He dared not look at his right arm, but was forced to as something smashed into the remnants, making the whole thing shake. He lifted his arms to steady himself and almost threw up at the sight of his mangled arm.

Sinew, bones, muscle hung like tatters and he could see the whiteness of what was probably his forearm bone that looked like it had been chewed through. Black ichor dripped where there should have been red blood and Loki felt incredibly dizzy all of the sudden as his vision swam with black and white spots floating across his eyes. Poisoned...and he knew what kind of poison it was... Fenrir's teeth had been coated in them.

There was an animalistic yelp followed by the brief sound of an explosion before silence reigned and Loki  _felt_ her presence and magick.

“Come Fenrir, you will accomplish no more with your injuries,” Hel's voice was an imperious monotone before just as suddenly her presence disappeared and Loki knew that she had walked into the void with Fenrir.

“Shit,” Fury cursed, “Hill! Get me facial recognition on Hel and Fenrir _right now_! They can't have gone off planet or anything-”

“Sit rep! Help the wounded, clear off the debris-”

“Where's Loki? Where's my brother?!” Loki nearly fainted as he huffed out a quiet laugh pushing himself forward with his good hand as he took another dizzying step. The poison was certainly already doing its work and as he cleared the edge of where he had been thrown into the quinjet, he saw his brother reel back a step at the sight of him. Even the Warriors Three and Lady Sif with their weapons drawn had stopped where they were.

“L-Loki...”

He shook his head, the black spots across his vision intensifying with his movement, and spotted the Hulk who had growled softly and seemed to war with something within as the green monster saw him. “I hope you have the cure ready Doctor...” he said as the black spots solidified and Loki felt himself falling into the darkness of nothingness.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So I have a specific actor in mind to play Fenrir if I was actually casting this. Even though you only glimpse his regular human form before he shifts back to wolf-form, I am imagining Alexander Vlahos who played Mordred in Season 5 of  _Merlin_ . If that's not really coming up in google images, just imagine Asa Butterfield who was the previous Mordred (after they aged him a bit). Or be like me and just imagine a slight mix of both in my head – that is Fenrir.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 11_

The mortal humans called it an oxygen mask and said it helped patients who could not breathe on their own due to collapsing lungs or other medical maladies. Some were hooked up to regulate their breathing so that the body's healing process could be more natural instead of compromised. Thor had never seen such a device until now, where his brother was hooked up to it, the machine helping to regulate his breaths. On Asgard it was the healers practicing their arts that enabled them to heal sometimes the worst of injuries, but Thor knew that the humans did not have such advance technology.

But he still did not move Loki from his place on the bed to return to Asgard, knowing that right now was a crucial time for his brother. Any movement at all could potentially negate the power of the anti-venom cure that was running through his battered body.

The only consolation Thor took from this was that his brother was at least getting some rest, even if it seemed like it was induced by the mixture of drugs and other things the human doctors had injected him with. However, Dr. Banner had told him that they dared not inject him with what the humans called 'the good stuff' only because they simply did not know how his body would react – especially with the anti-venom still doing its work.

He would have asked Heimdall to send Eir or one of the other Healers from Asgard to tend to his brother, but Thor had dared not move from where he sat next to his brother's recovery bed. He had also considered asking one of his friends to talk to Heimdall, but understood that such a message would impose upon their feelings towards Loki. He was not blind to their barely contained indifference and disgust towards Loki, but at the same time had tried to dismiss it and tell himself that his friends would eventually come around to trusting Loki again – like he had. The last thought made him grimace a little as he stared at the monitor that showed a steady rhythm of his brother's vitals. It was hypocritical of him to think that he fully trusted Loki when he could not even  _tell_  the difference just days ago with Fenrir's clever trick. He even had doubts as to which one was truly his brother during that standoff and felt horribly guilty that he had thought the one standing next to him was his brother when it  _had_  been Loki who had arrived through the shadows and had  _tried_  to convince them that he was who he was.

He knew that the trust he had in his brother was broken. He was sure that there would be no forgiveness and only mistrust between him and Loki now. He could almost hear his brother's snide remarks regarding what had happened in the hanger bay – how he had been so stupid as to think that Fenrir was him – that he truly did not know him. Thor' grimace deepened as he silently tried to come up with counter arguments against the phantom voice in his mind. But all nearly sounded weak in his head and he could easily imagine the twisting of words his brother would have with them, to drive the dagger deeper.

"Is it worth the effort, Thor?" Sif's voice behind him startled him out of his dark thoughts as he turned and saw her walk in, quietly passing by the rest of the healing SHIELD agents, Captain Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff.

"With everything that has happened..."

"Is it worth it?" she asked, taking one of the nearby unused chairs and sitting down in it. She was dressed in her armor, but her weapons were not upon her. Thor suspected that she must have left them with the others, but she was far from defenseless.

"Is it a fool's hope to wish it?" he countered, turning back to stare at his brother's still form. The only indication that he was breathing was the gentle rise and fall of his chest along with the steady beeping of monitors. He had been stripped of most of his tattered tunics and overcoat, leaving only his under layer upon him. Thor had stopped the medical team from dressing Loki in one of the humans' style of healing gowns, knowing that if and when his brother woke up, at least he would have some of his dignity. His own experience with the 'medical gown' as the humans liked to call it, was a little disconcerting.

A blanket covered Loki up to his chest, leaving his arms bare. His mangled right arm, however, had been gingerly elevated upon several layers of thin pillows, and now was engulfed in what looked like a clash of blue-gold versus black, inky ichor. It was the cure that Dr. Banner had immediately injected into Loki that seemingly fought and slowly, oh-so-slowly, eradicated the black ichor that was most definitely Jormungandr's poison.

Everyone was able to see it because Loki's arm had been shattered completely, white bone protruding from ripped sinew and muscles. The doctors had wanted to try to heal the arm with their medicines, but Dr. Banner had cautioned them to first let the cure do its work. He had even asked him if he could use healing stones to heal the damage, but Thor had told him that since the cure was partially made with the healing stones that Loki had converted with his magicks, anymore healing stones used upon a wound in such a short span of time would turn its innate magicks into poison. Every warrior knew that from the basic lessons learned at the Healing Halls. Too much of a good thing was usually poisonous in the end.

Dr. Banner had suggested that they put Loki in isolation, to prevent what he called 'infections' to take hold of Loki through the exposed arm, but Thor had denied it – knowing that his brother would react negatively if there was no one around him when he awakened. He had explained that Asgardian physiology and perhaps Loki's own Jotun physiology was far different than that of the mortals – they were not as prone to infections or injury as the rest of the Avengers were through mortal means. Thor also did not want to chance whatever reactions the cure may have on the black ichor of Jormungandr's poison.

"He most likely will not trust you," Sif flicked a look at Loki before staring back at him.

"But there is hope, is there not?"

"You always try to see the best in him?" Sif gave a wan smile, a bitter sad one that Thor recognized as affection long past as she stared at Loki for a while. The revelation days ago that she once had some affection for his brother had been a surprise, but given Loki's actions in recent times, that affection had all but turned into a twisted bitterness of sorts.

"If I do not, then he is truly lost," Thor replied softly before shaking his head and standing up, rolling his neck to work out the knots that had settled there since he began his watch, "Director Fury has called his war council?"

"He claims there is...intelligence gathered."

"Information then," Thor translated to Sif's hesitant mouthing of the word 'intelligence'. Why the mortals did not simply state things so plainly was beyond him, but it was a quirk that he recognized as their efforts to sometimes confuse their enemies. Sif also stood up, placing the chair she had taken back where it belonged and followed him out. The doctor and nurses that were on duty at the medical ward nodded to him as he passed by, understanding that he would be immediately summoned if Loki's condition changed.

They arrived at the main briefing room in short order and Thor briefly smiled a greeting to Faendral, Volstagg, and Hogun who had, to his amusement, taken the seats farthest from Director Fury's station. Thor took a seat next to Hogun while Sif sat on the other side of Faendral, more than likely ready to kick him if he wanted to made snide remarks. Of all of his companions, Faendral had a cutting tongue similar to Loki's whenever he deigned to use it – especially whenever they frequented the taverns.

Tony Stark and the archer Clint Barton were already there as well as Dr. Banner now that a majority of his work was done. Thor had seen the doctor walking in and out of the medical ward, checking up on each of the infected agents who had survived thus far and were given the cure. Unfortunately a few agents had succumbed to the poison while Loki and Dr. Banner had been making the cure, but at least the ones who held out for this one were already showing signs of improvement. Agent Romanoff, the first one to be poisoned was the slowest to recover, but Thor was glad to see the quiet, deadly flame-haired agent fighting to survive.

"Mind if I join the briefing Director?" Thor blinked and looked up before a smile tugged the corners of his lips at the sight of a very tired, but determined Captain Rogers standing by the entryway.

"You supposed to be out of Medical?" Fury asked, one eyebrow raised and staring at Rogers.

"Don't really like hospitals...spent a little too much time in them when I was younger," Rogers admitted before Fury gestured for him to take a seat, "no offense Doc."

"Not that kind of medical doctor and bedside manners aren't really my thing, so you're forgiven," Dr. Banner laughed lightly as Rogers took a seat next to him.

Rogers chuckled tiredly as Thor noted Stark staring at the soldier for a long moment, as if assessing him, before seemingly coming to his own conclusions and shot a quick smile at him. He had read the briefings that SHIELD had provided him a little over a year ago that stated that the once-frozen soldier had worked with Stark's father in one of Midgard's 'World Wars', but also that Stark had issues with his father. There had been animosity between the two of them when he had first met them. However, in the past year working with the rest of the Avengers, he had noticed Stark seemed to warm up to the soldier – even had sat by his bedside much like Thor had been doing with Loki after Rogers had collapsed in London. In ways, one could compare Stark, his father, and Rogers with his, Loki's and Odin Allfather's relationship, but Thor knew it would be impolite to say his thoughts out loud.

"Coulson's team reports that there have been similar poison gas incidents in cities around the world, but nothing concrete that would suggest a pattern of when and where Jormungandr, Hel, or Fenrir may be hiding. The pattern is very random and no definitive time stamp. One was in Sendai and one in Kyoto, almost at the same time then two minutes later, in Kabul, Afghanistan and Cairo."

"Lady Hel may be using portals to move so quickly," Thor murmured and Fury nodded.

"That's what we've thought," he agreed, "and I hate to say it, but it seems like they've been getting bolder since Loki's been out of action."

There was a suspicious cough-like noise from Barton after Fury's words, and Thor thought he heard a human swear word in that cough, but was not too sure as he glanced at the archer who shrugged as if he had not said a thing. Stark however, had a rueful crooked smile on his face since he was sitting next to the archer while Dr. Banner only gave a long suffering-like sigh.

"You want to add to the briefing, Agent Barton?" Fury turned his one-eyed gaze to the archer who straightened underneath the gaze of his commander.

"Seems like the easiest way to get the three out is probably to put Thor out as bait," the archer stared straight at him, as if daring him to contradict his words, but Thor was intrigued and tilted his head a little.

"There is no honor-"

Thor held up a hand to stop Faendral from trying to reach across the table to skewer the archer for seemingly impinging on his honor. He understood exactly what Barton was suggesting and even though it was very underhanded, and dare he silently compare it to one of Loki's plans – though Barton would never hear that from him – it made sense.

"It makes sense," Stark was also nodding, mostly to himself as he scratched his goatee, "if they are really after you like Loki says, to send you in some long, complicated, twisted plot to Thanos so that he can escape his prison, these attacks only mean that they're trying to draw you out into the open. We put you out as bait and they'll definitely come running."

"Maybe also stop gassing innocents at the same time," Dr. Banner muttered and Thor nodded again.

"It has merit," he agreed before turning to Faendral and the others, "you disagree with this plan?"

"They are fast, Thor," Faendral had a very pronounced frown on his face, " _very_  fast. Jormungandr and Fenrir alone were a match for the four of us when we fought them hundreds of years ago. Their imprisonment may have deteriorated some of their strength, but what they lack, they could very easily make up for determination and anger."

"But Fenrir's injured-"

"Only after from what was told to us, by the good Dr. Banner's alter ego here," Faendral pointed out, "even then you may have noticed as well as us, we could barely slow him down in your hanger bay."

Thor grimaced inwardly, the unspoken thought that even Loki had been caught off guard by Fenrir's vicious attack after the Hulk had beaten him into the ground. He knew that his brother was  _rarely_  caught off guard, having the foresight to always plan ahead for an eventualities – and a healthy dose of luck at times. Faendral was right; Fenrir, even injured in his wolf form, was still fast and the fight in the hanger bay would have torn apart the Helicarrier had it not been for Hel's intervention. The Avengers, minus Agent Romanoff, along with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three may have the chance of taking on Fenrir and Jormungandr, but there was still the question of Hel.

"Agent Barton," he spoke up into the silence, "how did Hel seem to you?"

"When she suddenly appeared out of thin air and started talking to Loki?" Barton asked and Thor nodded. "Well, we could feel her portals in London, right? Yeah...could not even feel a single thing when she popped into existence and started to talk to Loki. I'd consider her very hostile...and unpredictable."

"So she can conceivably help us?" Rogers spoke up, his brow crinkled in confusion.

"Or send us straight to her realm," Sif interjected dryly, "None of us ever fought Hel...you know something of this, Dr. Banner?"

Thor looked to see the doctor with a slightly sheepish look on his face. He cleared his throat a little, "I, uh...Loki's going to probably kill me...but...he told me that Hel is Death's daughter...as in that same Death that is Thanos' lover or whatever."

"Well...shit," Stark stated flatly and Thor knew that the human swear word that he said was probably the mildest form of what was just revealed. "So she probably is the one behind all of this – for what? For some sick purpose of just kind of you know, being the Queen of her realm of the dead or whatever? I mean, yeah, death is fickle, but I didn't know that Death's daughter was  _this_  fickle. Fucking with us like this...all of this like some grandiose plan to get Thanos out of his little blue box prison. Jesus..."

"She gave me the cure...or at least Jormungandr's venom so I  _could_  make the cure," Banner pointed out, "and maybe also Loki the idea of using the healing stones...?"

Barton only made a scoffing sound at the doctor's curious gaze upon him. He had refused to elaborate on what Loki and Hel had talked about, still too angry at Loki's actions towards him when he had first arrived on Midgard a little over a year ago.

Thor did not blame him, but part of him wished that he knew what his brother and Hel had talked about. He did not want to pry, but he also knew that perhaps it would quell the lingering doubts that his brother had helped Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir escape their prisons. The doubts of whether or not his brother was behind this had been quelled when Loki had been injured, but at least knowing what was spoken between Hel and Loki would ease his mind.

"Your plan has merit, archer Barton," Sif shook her head, bringing Thor's thoughts back to the briefing at hand, "and we see the value in that, but Hel is unpredictable." The other warriors nodded their heads in agreement, their expression saying everything Thor knew – that they did not like the possibility of an ambush that they could easily see. On their adventures throughout the years, there were certainly ambushes, but most of them were unseen or at least seen enough to mitigate it – usually by Loki's efforts.

"I...don't think she really wants to do any of this...and I don't think she really means any harm," Banner murmured, scratching his chin.

"She left a poison gas grenade at your feet," Rogers interjected with a pointed look and Banner shook his head.

"And she froze us in place, but I don't think she's outright attacked us. You see what she was doing in the hanger bay? Shielding Fenrir and deflecting our attacks to the side. No one got hit by stray fire that she deflected. She was even holding Fenrir back from attacking us."

"Yeah, up until she escaped with him," Fury cut in, "which, I don't know what it is in your book Doctor, but in mine, that's pretty much helping the enemy."

"Or maybe trying to prevent war from both sides?"

"Or confusing the two sides. Pretty thin grey line there, Bruce," Stark shrugged.

"I saw the recording of the other briefing while I was out of commission, but do any of you know what Hel was like when she was with the coterie?" Rogers turned to face them and Thor opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it when he realized he really did not know much about the coterie except for the jealousy he had felt seeing Loki with them. Jealous that someone else had stolen his brother's attention and adoration, jealous that Loki was so...happy back then. It had been childish and petty, but at the same time Thor realized that it had been truly the first time he had encountered the separation of his brother from himself since they had been all but been inseparable growing up.

He saw every one of his friends shake their heads except for Hogun who look momentarily pensive, his frown deepening for a second before he spoke up, "In the shadows..."

"Pardon?" Rogers asked.

"She was always in the shadows," Hogun clarified, his raspy voice soft and contemplative, "always quiet, rarely speaking, yet when she spoke to the others, they listened. When Loki and the others acted, she followed, but always in the shadows."

"I get the feeling she did whatever she wanted?" Fury supplied and Hogun look thoughtful for a second before nodding. "Great, so we're back at square one-"

"No...I don't think so," Banner spoke up quietly, rubbing his chin, "I think we can count Hel to stay out of things if we are to plan this ambush for them using Thor as bait. I mean, if the coterie's goal is to kill Thor, then she could have easily done it in London, right?"

The others nodded uneasily and even Thor was reluctant to agree. Loki and Fenrir's confirmation that the coterie's goal was to give him to Thanos so that a bargain could be struck with the Allfather was not exactly reassuring, but at least they understood what the coterie was aiming for.

"She's still a wildcard," Barton spoke up.

"Which is what we're counting on," Rogers rubbed a small circle with his fingers around his temples and Thor could see that the soldier was already fatigued from just the brief talk. He was certainly not ready to execute whatever strategy they were to come up with and was about to say so when the soldier turned to him, "Thor, do you think the Allfather could provide some of the magic we used to contain Loki after New York?"

"It is possible," he said as the soldier turned to the man of iron.

"Tony, you still have those-"

"I have at least two built, probably just need to tweak them since they were prototypes to the one we trapped Reindeer Games with, but I can have a third one in a couple of hours," Stark looked pleased, but at the same time had a grim look on his face, "that enough time for what you're planning?"

"Hopefully, but I don't know what the specifics are for an Asgardian ambush here on Earth. I mean, human yes, but Asgardian?"

"I'm thinking it involves a lot of property destruction," Fury interjected dryly, "if the Destroyer is any indication."

"Remote places won't work. These guys have been hitting up population centers," Barton said as he reached a hand out and twisted the holographic map to show the spots around Midgard that have reported poisonous gas attacks.

"Somewhere with water may work best since Loki said Jormungandr was afraid of water," Banner said as Thor watched as Fury took over in manipulating the map from Barton and spun Midgard slowly on its axis.

Fury seemed pensive as he enlarged several places before reverting the map back to its spherical shape. "Coulson, status?" he suddenly called out.

"Cardiff is an ideal location, sir," Thor felt the corner of his lips quirk up in a small smile at the slightly tinned voice of Agent Coulson. He saw Sif and the others jump a little at the sudden intrusion of the voice before they realized it was a form of communication. "My team can evacuate the place in under an hour while you deploy SHIELD personnel as cover. My guess is that since they've hit London, they're not bothered too much with what's going on in the rest of the United Kingdom. We can move in while having skeleton teams move to the recent hotspots to throw them off."

"As long as the Doctor or TARDIS doesn't show up, though Captain Jack can help given he's immortal and all," Stark all but muttered under his breath and Thor heard Banner suppressing a laugh.

"I...do not understand-"

"You're not the only one Thor," Rogers seemed utterly confused at what had to be an inside joke between Banner and Stark, but elicited eye-rolling reactions from Fury and Barton.

"All right, then we have a few of hours before we set this operation in motion. Prep your gear, Cap, report to the infirmary for a checkup. Stark, let us know if you need more time. Thor-"

"I will petition the Allfather for the magicks needed for the man of iron's bindings," Thor stood up as the rest at the table started to get up too.

"Sir," Coulson's tinned voice spoke up, "what's the backup plan?"

Fury's lips turned into a frown, but before he could say anything, Thor held out a hand, "I will also petition the Allfather to station a contingent of warriors and battlemages around the Observatory. If we fall, Heimdall will activate the Bifrost to transport at least Fenrir and Jormungandr to Asgard where they will be subdued."

He could see Fury mulling over his words, the implication that he would not be able to claim justice upon either one like he wanted to, but in the end curtly gave his tacit approval with a quick nod. "Dismissed."

Thor nodded at the rest of them as he headed out of the briefing room and towards the hallway that would lead back to the medical ward. He heard the others following behind him and stopped for a moment as the hallway split, one leading to the hanger bay, the other to the medical ward.

"My friends, I do not know if I will be successful in my petition to the Allfather, but I wish one of you to stay to watch over my brother," he could see the minute tensing of each one of them, "please. I only ask of it in the name of the long standing friendship between us-"

"Thor, you stay. Hogun and I can petition the Allfather for what is needed," Sif interrupted him gently with a quiet smile, "it is of no burden to us to do this even though you clearly wish to stay next to Loki's side."

Thor opened his mouth, floored by Sif's generous offer. He had intended to say his goodbye to his brother before he left, not knowing whether or not he would be detained or absconded by the Allfather for protection of sorts since the coterie were clearly after him. But with Sif's generous offer, to keep him here on Midgard where he could at least make sure Loki was healing and had reassurances that he had not abandoned him and broken the promises that Loki had accused him of breaking, it was more than he could ask.

"Volstagg and I will draw up a battle plan with this commanding officer Fury," Faendral offered with a quick smile.

"T-Thank you...my friends," he said, "this is a debt that I will repay forever-"

"This is not a debt you have to repay, Thor," Sif shook her head, "not ever."

Thor took the unspoken offer that this was between friends with good grace as they parted ways, Sif and Hogun headed to the hanger bay for Heimdall to send them back while Volstagg and Faendral back to the briefing area to talk to Director Fury. As he watched them go, he could not imagine them breaking apart or even killing them like Loki had with his coterie.

And that was when he realized what set his friends apart from Loki's coterie – the implicit trust that even if it was marred by a wayward family member, that they were there for each other. Loki was not necessarily to blame as sometimes Volstagg's children got into trouble or Faendral's rotating objects of affection came to them for help, but rather they knew that their families were part of the friendship that bound them together. He thought back to what his friends had said about Loki's coterie, especially after he had been incapacitated by Jormungandr's poison.

Loki had gone on the quest supposedly to help find the cure to the poison, but had only left halfway through the quest, abandoning Sif and the others to Jormungandr and Fenrir. His friends said that they had fought and captured the two magick-users, only to find that a trial was underway for Hel with Jormungandr and Fenrir joining her. The four others had supposedly died by Loki's hand and-

His thoughts screeched to a halt as he realized that Loki had only acted  _after_  he had been incapacitated. It did not mean that he did not know, but it lent some credence to the truth that the coterie had planned  _something_  behind Loki's back. Something seemingly clicked in his head as another puzzle piece fell into place. His brother had said that the coterie wanted to change Asgardian society's perspective on magick-users, to be more accepted by them instead of shunned and whispered.

What better way to change society than to rule it from the top?

What better way to force change than by overthrowing the Allfather?

And that was when Thor realized that Loki was never behind all of this. Instead, he had been trying to  _prevent_  it from even happening. Loki had killed four members of his coterie so that the House of Odin would not fall.

And that his brother had once again, protected him when Fenrir attacked.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I'm back and determined to finish this by mid-March. Also,  _TDW_  lent some inspiration after watching it several times last week.


	12. Chapter 12

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 12_

The trek towards consciousness was always a long and muddled process. Hearing seemed to always be the first in his case, but  _understanding_  and  _comprehending_  what he was hearing was another story. However, his mind was always keen, even when he had been unconscious for a while and Loki registered the near silent hum of machinery near his ear. However, that judgment could not be counted upon since he knew that his hearing was sensitive. The next thing his mind connected was that there was a steady beeping of something followed by low murmurs that had an uneven cadence and tone to be mechanical...voices then.

After hearing, the sensation of touch, sharp, fluid, a little too sensitive at times, registered in his mind as he slowly, cautiously felt out the firm, but slightly soft cushions of what had to be a bed he was lying upon. Nothing metal, stone,  _painful_  then, good. There was something adhesive upon parts of him, his wrists, chest, places that he knew to be his pressure points, but how-

Pushing that momentary concern away from him, he could feel a coolness against his bared skin, nothing cold like Jotunheim, but it prickled at him. His arms was bare as was his shoulders, but his chest still felt a cool suppleness of undertunics, which meant that he had been stripped of all clothing except for those-

Pain. Loki had woken upon enough times to pain that he immediately recognized the sensation and automatically suppressed it, his still-too-sharp hearing making sure that the beeping sound stay steady. His mind was already racing with the possibilities and connections as the final part of waking up surged around him, the pain that flared everywhere, down a jagged line across his front, raking his left shoulder blades, but most of all along his right forearm-

_His arm suddenly burned in an incredible sharp pain as muscle and sinew were torn apart by the force of a blue-black dire wolf's jaw on it, nearly ripping it from its socket. A hissing sound filled his ears before he realized it was his own voice nearly releasing a scream combined with something_ dissolving _on his arm- No, it was his arm that was dissolving, the angry howling roar muffled as he smelled the sharp scent of_ animal _._

Fenrir.

Loki exploded into full consciousness at the memory of the attack as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Grey metallic walls with equipment he did not recognize gave way to rows of white beds, some of which were occupied, others which had curtains draw upon them. He saw that two beds down was what looked like the outline of a dark-haired doctor in a lab coat talking to a patient sitting on the bed. He realized that the patient was the soldier Rogers judging by the minute transparency the curtains provided.

He was still on the Helicarrier then, and forced himself to relax, if only a little bit, fighting off the fight-or-flight instinct that had surged within him. If he had been in Asgard, the Healing Hall would not have allowed him to wake up in pain, but he supposed that the mortals and their primitive healing arts did not allow for that. To him, the Helicarrier represented the basest means of safety, that there was no forthcoming attack – at least not at the moment that he was most vulnerable.

He turned his head a little, feeling the shift of what passed for a pillow on this mortal world, crunch in his still too-sensitive ears. What greeted him on his left side was a sight that made him take notice, but at the same time want to  _throw_  something. Thor sat in a chair that looked like it would collapse underneath the weight of himself and his armor if not for any movement on his part. A very, very deep part of him was shocked that Thor would be sitting by his bedside of all things, but that part was quickly buried underneath the urge to _throw_  something at Thor's head.

His brother was utterly oblivious to the world judging by the intent, concentrated look he wore staring at some sort of hand held tablet that Loki had seen Dr. Banner occasionally carry around the lab. Two holographic images were projected on top of the tablet as he occasionally lifted a finger to seemingly swipe it down or across the areas; no doubt actually _reading_.

Loki reached deep within himself to grasp at his magicks, but found them to be as slippery as the other times he had woken up after being injured. He lamented the fact that he could not conjure up an illusion of sorts to play on Thor and instead settled for the next best weaponry he had upon himself – his words.

"Ragnarok has happened, you are reading. Or perhaps not, considering they are moving pictures," he saw the flick of a finger and videos were playing on the holographic screens. He was not surprised to hear how dry and cracked his own voice sounded, but was surprised at how much it  _hurt_. He must have not kept that scream to himself when Fenrir had tore into him as he thought he had...

But his croak, or at least his approximation of speaking got Thor's attention as he looked up from his tablet and made to set it down, but then lifted it back up as if warring with something within him. A sudden burst of fear and  _disgust_  shot through Loki as he wondered if Thor was going to say something utterly sentimental or brotherly like that he was alive and readied himself to counter it before his brother suddenly just gave him a small smile.

"You are awake," was all Thor said, his smile not even his usual boisterous one and Loki blinked, surprised at how...unlike himself his brother was acting. He was about to draw the magicks to spell Thor to make sure he was not a doppelganger, before he saw the minute twitching of Thor's hand that held the tablet and stilled his instinct.

The fact that Thor was  _restraining_  himself from outright showing affection and sentimentality surprised him, but at the same time Loki wondered if Thor had really taken to heart all of the times he had threatened with a dagger in the ribs and the like. Still, that did not mean Thor was an idiot as he rolled his eyes, feeling the brief scrape of dryness in them against his lids, "No, I am quite fast asleep and you are hallucinating."

"Then it is a pleasant one," his brother retorted and an involuntary laugh that came out more as a cough escaped from his lips before he felt the pull of his wounds and shaking of his injured arm. "Loki-"

Loki ignored his brother's concern at what had to be the pain that he had barely managed to keep off of his expression. He turned his head and finally stared at the elevated remains of his mangled right arm. Jets of blue starlight raced along what remained of, muscles, sinew, blood vessels, and bone, clashing with the slowly shrinking remains of black ichor that he knew was Jormungandr's poison. His arm looked like someone had taken a jagged edge sword and played around in it, leaving gaping holes, wounds that should have been bleeding – probably had bled – and seemingly pockmarked everywhere. Tattered remains of dead flesh along with live ones next to it hung and it  _hurt_  as he could now really feel each biting sharp pain that transmitted along still working nerves. Parts of the gaping, weeping wound looked like the frostbitten black burns Volstagg had sustained when the Frost Giants had touched him, but most of it looked like a diseased thing.

Contrary to what the others might think and what Thor probably thought, Loki did not try to shy away from pain, no matter how much he had complained in his younger years during trips to the Healing Halls. He just tended not to like the Healing Halls that much and found the easiest way for solitude was to make himself a complete nuisance, usually driving Eir up a wall. He forced himself to continue to stare at his arm and twitched his fingers, relief flooding him as well as waves of agony as each of his fingers and parts of his palm responded to his mental commands to move.

"Loki-"

"I wouldn't do that, Loki," a shadow fell over his arm and Loki looked up to see Dr. Banner standing next to his bed.

He only arched an eyebrow to which the doctor frowned before reaching out to touch-

A part of him suddenly exploded in panic while the other part of him fought the rising panic as Dr. Banner stopped just short of actually lifting or touching his injured arm and Loki felt his fingers, hand, and arm twitch in an effort to shy away. There was no need for panic as he forced himself to keep his breathing normal, no need – this was not Thanos, not the pain and  _torture_  that had been inflicted upon him in the abyss-

"Looks like the cure is working," the doctor gave him a wan smile, but Loki knew that whatever panic he had been trying to suppress had not fooled the doctor. Perhaps he had even smelled it if what the doctor had said was true about the green monster within him. "I think I can let Dr. Streiten give you the good stuff since you're awake," the doctor cleared his throat lightly, "I mean, it's medication that can be used to dull the pain-"

"I am fine," he did not want any Midgardian medication within him, not after hearing what had happened to Thor when he had been exiled to Midgard by the Allfather. It was a jesting tale of how his mortal lover had apparently hit him with her vehicle several times before he had been taken down by mortals with drugs that made him sleep. He had a feeling that it was a little different than the tale spoken, but there had been truth in those words about the mortals drugs and Loki did not want  _anything_ he did not know was made out of within him. It would be like SHIELD to offer him something for the pain only to negate a deal that was never made and trap him.

He turned his head a little to glare at Thor who had opened his mouth to protest and saw him close it before shaking his head, clearly disappointed, but at least wise enough not to say anything.

"Masochist," Loki had almost forgotten how pleasant of a cutting edge she always put into her words and a crooked smile worked its way up his face as looked beyond Dr. Banner to see Agent Romanoff walking slowly towards them. Her face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes, but she looked healthy enough instead of the translucent death-like state he had scanned her in just days ago – at least he figured it was days ago.

Beyond her, he saw Agent Barton stop short of approaching, seeing him awake, before turning to Captain Rogers' bedside. The soldier was lying on the bed, apparently waiting for either a doctor or nurse after having been examined by Banner.

"Practical," he countered and she acknowledged the repartee with a tilt of her head.

"Acknowledging the pain when needed, accepting the dullness of it when amongst allies is also practical," she said and he pursed his lips.

"Since when was the trust of allies extended? I seem to recall guns pointed at me not too long ago," out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thor flinched at the implications that he could not tell which one was the real Loki. But before Thor could even say a word, Romanoff spoke up again, this time the derision and sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"Loki, guns are  _always_  pointed at you when show up. Thought you'd be used to that now," her smile was as sweet as a viper's and Loki nearly laughed at it. At the very least, Romanoff had not forgotten who he really was and why he was here, even if she had been incapacitated from the very beginning. "In fact, the lack of weaponry pointed at you is a bit odd. I think I'll rectify that once I'm cleared out of here-"

"Your bedside manner leaves much to be desired," now he was getting a little irritated as he shifted a little and Romanoff only continued to smile at him.

"From what I heard, you were practically a nightmare, berating Thor when he had just come out of it after being poisoned all those years ago. I'll put in a word with Dr. Streiten to make sure he keeps you here for a very long time – not as a prisoner, but as a patient," Romanoff said a little too brightly before turning to Banner, "Doctor?"

"Barton found you," Banner looked like he was trying very hard, and definitely not succeeding, in keeping a smile off of his face. Loki caught Thor looking a little confused and it hit him why Romanoff had needled him like that.

He laughed lightly, managing not to grimace at the sharp jabs of pain, as Romanoff and Banner walked away, no doubt for the doctor to make sure that the cure was doing its work on Romanoff. It took one to know another, he supposed and it proved that Romanoff had most likely woken up much like he did, but stealthily made her escape from the medical ward before anyone noticed. He extrapolated that the doctors more than likely panicked before Agent Barton had found her and convinced her to return.

"Loki...I..." the resignation and hesitation in Thor's voice made him close his eyes, unwilling to see the pity and sentimental apology in them.

"Fenrir was the best at illusions," he said instead, interrupting Thor from saying anything else, keeping his voice light. When Thor had said that he did not trust him, not after everything in the hanger bay, he had felt like someone had stabbed him in the chest. But through that hazy pain, he had felt a sense of kinship and  _pride_  that his brother had finally learned – that he  _could not_  be trusted. It had hurt, to see the final childhood bonds that Thor had tried to preserve so carefully, shatter, the pieces falling to the ground like broken glass. But he also knew that if it had not been for Thor's caution, he would not be sitting next to his bed, not with Fenrir practically next to him.

The fact that Thor had  _allowed_  Fenrir to get that close to him, close enough to stab him in the heart and kill him with an assassin's blade, had driven Loki to be nearly reckless. It was only Fury's hesitation that had made him come back to his senses, made him wary and willing to answer questions that he knew would had to have been dragged from him otherwise.

"Brother-"

"It was how he operated as an assassin, a mercenary for hire. Our teacher refined his techniques and he used them to our advantage during some of our adventures. His impersonation of almost everyone in the coterie was masterful and it was also his downfall," he continued, keeping his eyes closed as he spoke. It hurt less now, his throat getting used to speaking once more instead of screaming. He dared not mention that perhaps a chance conversation with Fenrir long before any of this may have paved the way for what had happened to the coterie. All he wanted was for magick-users to be accepted by the Court. After all, Thor was the heir and he...the spare.

The silence in wake of his words punctured by the murmuring and beeping of other equipment in the medical ward made Loki wonder if his brother had gone back to looking at his tablet before a shift in fabric and the squeak of the chair told him that Thor was still there. "You...have a geas."

"I have several," he replied automatically, but already knew which one Thor was talking about.

"With Thanos," Thor shot back bluntly and Loki kept his eyes closed. It was something he had been hoping Thor would not talk about, but he knew his brother loved to pester and find the truth to secrets not so easily revealed. He expected Thor's next question to be about why he had made one, what had driven him to do it, perhaps about how he would try to help him break it; all nonsensical, sentimental,  _brotherly_ , things that he knew Thor would ask-

"Your research last year was not fruitful,"  _that_  was not the question, or rather, statement Loki expected and an unbidden smile twitched on the corner of his lips.

"But if he promised you Midgard in exchange for the Tesseract, then should not the geas been negated since neither was delivered?" his brother asked and Loki opened his eyes, a little surprised at how insightful Thor was being. He looked over and saw that his brother had a pensive expression on his face, not staring at him, but rather at some faraway point. There was also something else in that expression and he realized it was guilt. Thor felt  _guilty,_ but it was not about the geas, he knew that as much.

It hit him then that Thor felt guilty that he could not identify which one of them was really Loki. In turn, he was trying to assuage that guilt by trying to pay more attention, be more insightful, everything that he had been berated for  _not_  doing in the past; to think before he acted. And somehow, that annoyed Loki. Yes, there were times Thor never really thought about the consequences of his actions, but sometimes there were times when his brother came up with the simplistic of plans that were also brilliant. There were also times that his statement of the obvious had led to solutions even he had dismissed. Thor being...insightful somehow annoyed him and Loki could not pinpoint why until he realized that far from being physically coddled in sentiment, his brother was trying to express it with the guilt he felt.

Thor was attempting to repair and soothe hurt feelings that Loki was too long used to being hurt and knew that was the source of his annoyance.

"This is not something you can swing with your hammer and get rid of, Thor," he snarled, the vehemence and annoyance startling even himself and saw his brother suppressing a flinch as if he had been punched in the gut. Loki resisted the urge to sigh and clench his fists, including the one ripped apart by Fenrir, in further annoyance as he realized that the message he had intended for Thor to receive had been taken a completely different way.

"It is magicks that would take years of careful research to undo," he continued.  _And perhaps a question for Lady Death_ , he added mostly to himself; his teacher was perhaps best suited for geas-related questions. But it would be something he would have to do very carefully and quietly, perhaps in a hundred years or so when the furor of this latest incident with the coterie had died down once more.

"I...understand," he could see that Thor did not quite understand and part of him wanted to say it, but instead, kept his mouth shut as Thor fidgeted a little. "Then I will strive to ensure Thanos' prison holds."

It was far from an apology, that Thor blamed himself for putting Loki in all of this, but at the same time Loki took it for what it was and nodded once, accepting it as his brother sighed and leaned back against his chair. At least his brother understood that the geas and Thanos were beyond his capabilities and to put his talents to use elsewhere, ensuring that the Tesseract prison held – and at the same time to  _not_  get killed in the process so that Thanos did not have a bargaining chip.

He made to close his eyes once more, to pretend to at least rest when Thor suddenly flipped his tablet towards him and Loki saw that the video files were that of London battling, or attemtping to battle Hel; of Washington D.C. and Rotterdam battling Jormungandr, and last but not least, of the Helicarrier hanger bay where Loki saw what had happened after Fenrir had tossed him into the quinjet. Next to the various video files, all taken from different angles, were notes describing physicality, potential weaknesses, and what seems to be excerpts from stories about the three.

"Director Fury summoned us for a war council a few hours ago with the intention of a plan of attack against Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir. Lady Sif and Volstagg have returned to petition the Allfather for spelled chains to trap at least Jormungandr or Fenrir when we attack at Cardiff. I have been studying their forms and even the stories that the humans have written about them. The man of iron, Tony Stark, thinks he can replicate the manacles used on you a year ago to entrap the others."

"Do you think they will allow you to get that close to them?" Loki countered as he lifted his uninjured hand up and flicked a few videos on Thor's tablet. He stared at what remained of his coterie as they fought the Avengers and SHIELD, his lips pressed into a thin line at how fluid and serpentine Jormungandr looked when he fought in his Asgardian form. Fenrir had stayed in wolf form for a few seconds after doing away with him, but had also reverted back to his Asgardian form after throwing a few stray illusions of himself across the hanger bay. There was fluidity, grace, and power behind the mercenary assassin's moves, but also of injured desperation and fury. When Hel arrived she looked as imperious and as impish as he remembered. One hand was clamped upon Fenrir's shoulder, the other held out, warding off bullets, Mjolnir's lighting bolts, arrows, and repulsor blasts from an unarmored Tony Stark, but clearly with weaponry.

"They will if I am there," Thor replied shortly and Loki flicked a look up at him, shaking his head a little.

"You will never learn will you-"

"I will not hide behind-"

"They will know it is a trap," he cut Thor off before he could protest about how cowardly it was to not go and let others die for him. Loki wanted to call out how hypocritical it was of Thor to profess to him only moments earlier that he was to make sure that he did not die and become a bargaining chip to Thanos, but brushed that urge away.

"Cardiff is a populated center near London, but we have put a plan into place-"

"They will  _know_ ," he cut him off again, "the coterie is not made of fools you think you could trick. Even if these purported myths about them by the mortals say that they were my children, do you really think if they were my children they would fall for such amateur parlor tricks?!"

Thor sighed loudly and irritably and rubbed his forehead, "Then what should we do, Loki? If you had taught the coterie the deceptions and tricks of one like yourself, then what do we do? They have attacked other cities on Midgard-"

"That is what they are trying to make SHIELD do, respond to the attacks to draw your eye away," he muttered mostly to himself as he thought. His coterie did not operate on brute strength unlike Thor and his friends, even though sometimes they did so to make sure that whoever dared attack them knew that they were not the weak magick-users that many thought mages to be. Vali and Sigyn had been the best at casting the brutish magicks that enabled mass destruction on a large scale.

"Draw away from what-"

He held up his hand to shut Thor up as he continued to think. There had been more than one adventure where they had to use guile and wits to steal a treasure or to kill a particular bandit or even corrupt official that the Allfather had deemed not high on the metaphoric list of concerns. Sometimes it was as simple as luring the target out with magicks that threw their voices as if they were a rival bandit company. Once Angrboda and Narfi had impersonated the official's wife having an affair of sorts. There was also the time when they had hired a fellow thief that Fenrir had known before joining the coterie to help them with a particular adventure, but the thief instead had betrayed them to their target for a few coins – Fenrir had not been happy afterwards and Loki had discovered one day in an outlying village the mage desecrating the body of the thief – a little more disturbed than he had cared to admit.

Ah...that was it.

Fenrir never took slights to his perceived honor as well as the others, even though his profession was that of an assassin and mercenary, where honor meant nothing to others. Loki had gotten used to it by then, the looks at Court, the whispers. The others came from backgrounds where they too had been shunned, but Fenrir had been the proudest of them all. Anything he perceived as a slight would deserve his retribution, sometimes more than what was needed – but Loki had not exactly cared back then, a little too naïve to believe what was whispered in the shadows and darkness. Maybe it was one of the reasons why Death took a little bit of a shine towards Fenrir, teaching him how to become a master illusionist.

"With Fenrir injured, the coterie will be cautious," he said and Thor's brow crinkled, ready to protest, "I said cautious, not stupid. These attacks on the cities of Midgard are not stupid. They are calculated and planned to ensure that you will respond in what seems to be the most effective way, to trap them in a city you think may be worth the sacrifice. They will not care and attack it anyway."

"But-"

"At the same time they will launch a personal attack," he looked at Thor who was staring back with all seriousness, "not upon your persons, but upon the heart."

It took only a second for Thor to realize what he was talking about, "Jane..."

Loki nodded, "Hel will attack this Cardiff you have set as a trap, but it will be Fenrir and perhaps Jormungandr who will attack everyone your friends care about."

"Not just Jane Foster then," he had forgotten that Rogers was in the medical ward along with Banner, Romanoff, and Barton and turned to see him standing nearby, "sorry, I didn't meant to eavesdrop..."

"Fenrir was on the Helicarrier long enough to get you down pat," Barton muttered absently, not unkind, but hardly kind either, "too bad I couldn't shoot both of you."

"And I would disappointed if you did not," he replied back in a light tone as the archer glared at him.

"He probably had enough time to read up on all of our files if he's able to impersonate you well enough to respond to the standoff in the hanger bay," Rogers looked troubled, "which means he knows our friends..."

"Who are your weaknesses," Loki finished for him before Barton was already touching his ear and turning away, talking rapidly to Director Fury as he walked out with Rogers following close behind him.

"Thor, Fury's reported that Sif and Volstagg are back with the magicks and that Tony is almost ready with the manacles," Banner said, "I'll go inform them of this latest development."

"I'm coming with you," Romanoff said as the two left, leaving Thor who had risen out of his seat during the exchange.

"Loki-"

"Go on," he shook his head at the apologetic look his brother was shooting him, "I am invalidated to this Norn-forsaken bed and will not stand to hear you whine about Jane Foster for the next few hours."

"Thank you..." Thor set the tablet down by a small table that Loki had not noticed was there, tucked away in the corner of his bed. He looked like he wanted to at least grasp his shoulder in some sentimental gesture, but instead settled for a smile and turned to leave.

"Thor," Loki did not know what compelled him to speak, but he knew he had to get the warning out, "Fenrir  _will_  try it again. All of this...it is something he knows many do not expect because it had failed once, but he will do it."

The smile dropped from Thor's face as he nodded solemnly, "I know..." He turned around again and headed out.

"Do you?" Loki whispered mostly to himself into the nearly empty medical ward, "He will try to kill you again...like when he poisoned you with Jormungandr's venom."


	13. Chapter 13

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 13_

 

He had been offered an earpiece to listen in on the operations that SHIELD had launched to retrieve Pepper Potts, Jane Foster, Dr. Selvig, Darcy Lewis, and Dr. Betty Ross, as well as to warn another one of Tony Stark's friends who also wore a metal suit of armor named Lt. Col. James Rhodes. All of the names except for Ross he was familiar with, having picked them from Barton's mind, and it was only Romanoff telling him that Dr. Ross was Dr. Banner's former lover that he learned a little more about how the doctor had closed himself off to his friends after he had acquired the green monster.

That earpiece had sat by the table next to his bed the whole time, and instead, he had taken Thor's tablet and had used it to look at the video footage as well as mission reports that had been loaded onto the piece of Midgardian technology. The access was limited and Loki did not feel like spelling the tablet to break into it and read up on the secretive files that apparently he needed a password to, but it provided a wealth of information that all but confirmed what nonsensical farce the others had written about the coterie, about himself, even of what had been witnessed on the battlefield.

“You up for walking?” Romanoff's voice followed by her head peering around the privacy curtains that had been drawn across his bed made him look up from what he had been reading to see her tapping her earpiece. “Thor and his group managed to capture Jormungandr apparently,” she said and Loki blinked, surprised by the news.

“Capture?”

“Allowed himself to be caught, apparently. All they would say is that they're returning to the Helicarrier. The others should also be heading back soon. Coulson's reported that there was an attack on Cardiff, but they didn't get to apprehend Hel or whomever instigated the attack,” Romanoff did not look disappointed, but rather stated everything in a matter-of-fact way.

“A return to this place is circular,” Loki stated as he gingerly stepped off the bed and tested his weight. It seemed to hold and the dizziness that had assaulted him hours earlier after Thor and the rest of the Avengers left, seemed to have passed. It also turned out that when Sif and Volstagg had returned, they had also thought to bring him a change of clothing and Loki had a feeling that Queen Frigga was the one who picked out the clothing – being one of the two that could have gone past the wards within his bed chambers.

It had also heralded the return of Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff, both of whom had stomped into the medical ward with pinched looks upon their faces. Loki had immediately surmised that both Banner and the mortal medical doctor Streiten had not cleared them for the operation and it had left both a little angry. The same mortal doctor had finally told them that they would be able to participate by reporting to Director Fury before turning to him.

He had been cautious of the doctor when he had first approached before the doctor showed him a contraption that looked a lot like a sling that he, Thor, and the others usually used in the field to stabilize wounds before applying healing stones upon it. The doctor had explained that he had known about the excess use of healing stones, but told him that at least he would minimize movement with the sling upon him. And so with his tattered forearm bandaged and placed into the sling, Loki changed into a fresher set of clothing and perused the tablet Thor had left with him.

He caught Romanoff's grimace as she sighed, “Politics, also the others want you to make sure that it's really Jormungandr.”

Loki immediately understood what she was implying. Perhaps Director Fury wanted to prosecute Jormungandr for himself, or even finish his part in the geas, but Thor or one of the warriors that was fighting with him clearly wanted Jormungandr to return to Asgard to face justice. “The magicks the Allfather used upon the chains and manacles were clearly designed to suppress all magicks. Any illusions cast upon him will disappear.”

“I'll relay that,” Romanoff pulled the privacy curtain aside as she touched her ear and walked away, leaving him alone.

He slowly walked to the entrance of the medical ward and received a nod from Dr. Streiten who was taking care of the patient he vaguely remembered as being Agent Ward. The agent only gave him an arched look, clearly still recovering as he lay on the bed, but Loki ignored it as he walked out.

As he made his way down the winding corridors, he saw numerous SHIELD personnel and agents all blinking or staring at him with some surprise before moving out of the way or shifting their looks elsewhere. He supposed that he looked like death warmed over, but could not help but smirk at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Loki-whoa, you, uh, kind of look, uh, peaky...you okay?” Rogers' voice made him turn, thankfully not so fast to combat the brief bout of dizziness that swam across his eyes. He saw the soldier hurrying down the hall, dressed in his normal clothing, but with his shield in hand.

He only glared at the soldier and turned back around to walk when Rogers fell in step beside him. He could only roll his eyes in irritation as drawing his magicks to do anything to Rogers or even to escape being near him was out of the question. He already felt stronger, but did not want to tax his body to the limits by doing something so frivolous. As he continued his walk to the hanger bay, a sense of twisted amusement pulled the corners of his lips at how much SHIELD personnel now  _stared_ instead of moving away as they passed through. It was not everyday that one saw Captain America and Loki the Trickster God walk through the halls together.

They arrived at the hanger bay just as two quinjets were touching down, Romanoff already there waiting for them. She was not dressed in the looser clothing that Rogers was wearing, but rather was dressed in the skin-tight body armor that he was familiar with. Standing near her was Director Fury who only acknowledged their entrance with a quick look before the ramps descended upon the quinjets as a third one roared in for a landing.

Various SHIELD agents, dressed in body armor and holding weapons poured out of the quinjet followed by several civilians, some of whom Loki did not recognize, but he saw Jane Foster and Dr. Selvig amongst them. He glanced over at the other quinjet as the sound of metallic boots echoed on the ramp and saw the man of iron and another similarly outfitted metal armored figure walking down, the two talking amiably next to each other. Dr. Banner followed behind, almost shyly until he saw that a woman was following him. It was more than likely the Dr. Betty Ross that Banner had been reluctant to even mention until now. He watched as several more armed SHIELD agents exited the quinjet, some of whom sported injuries, others looking a little weary. Clearly more than a few skirmishes had happened while the teams were out.

He saw Director Fury move forward towards the quinjet that Dr. Selvig and Jane Foster had come out. At the same time, Thor and Hogun appeared from the inner confines of the quinjet, escorting a tall reed-thin man with a sharp angular jawline and prominent cheekbones. His eyes were the same light blue that Loki remembered, a trait shared with his older brother Fenrir. The two brother mages also shared similar dark hair, but Jormungandr's was darker. It seemed the healer had not bothered to change into the fashions of Midgard, having kept the same brown pants, and blue tunic upon himself as well as the faded brown leathers of the jacket that had been given as a gift. The red neckerchief tied around his neck completed the ensemble and for all intents and purposes, Jormungandr could have blended in with a peasant populace on one of the other worlds instead of Midgard.

The healer's mouth was sealed with the same muzzle that had been on him after he had surrendered to the Avengers a little over a year ago, but his eyes told a different story. Loki saw that they were downcast, defeated, very unlike Fenrir's whose eyes were chipped with defiance and anger.

He saw Fury stop Thor and Hogun, Agent Barton following the two with an arrow in his bow, ensuring that Jormungandr did nothing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sif, Faendral, and Volstagg exit the quinjet that Tony Stark and Dr. Banner had flown in. From his vantage point, he could see Fury making a few hand gestures, no doubt explaining his reasoning to why he wanted Jormungandr back on the Helicarrier. Perhaps it was both to get justice for the Midgardians and also to fulfill the geas contract enacted; after all if Jormungandr had been taken to Asgard, there would be no way for Fury to fulfill his end of the geas and therefore drop dead.

He saw both Sif and Faendral shoot looks at him as they joined in the conversation, both glaring at him and he only offered a smile in return at their annoyance. Jane Foster and her group had stopped, peering back as Thor conversed with Fury and Loki caught them turning their heads towards him – recoiling as they recognized him. He saw a frown on Foster's face, but she made no overt moves to show that she was scared or even shocked to see him like the others. She did however, place a hand on Dr. Selvig's arm, the man turning deathly pale at the sight of him.

There were a few more hand gestures by Fury until Thor nodded and Hogun stepped away from Jormungandr, allowing Fury to take his place. Fury placed a firm hand on Jormungandr's shoulder and started to march him towards Loki. Thor fell a half-step behind, not quite restraining Jormungandr, but allowing Fury to fulfill his part in the geas. He noted that almost all activity stopped in the hanger bay as many watched, but Loki did not really care for the audience. He knew that if it was another prisoner, someone other than a member of his coterie that Fury was directing towards him, he would have at least put on a show, but this was Jormungandr.

All he felt was  _nothing_ for what the healer had done. It was not emptiness, but rather he had closed himself off to any sort of emotion, whether it be anger, disappointment, betrayal, all of it.

“And here he is,” Fury said as they stopped a hand and half away from him, “I think this fulfills our part of the geas, am I correct?”

“Certainly,” he glanced over to see Thor with a frown on his face, but did not protest. At least the foolish oaf had the sense to realize that any words to what Fury was saying could nullify the completion of the geas.

“Do what you will with him, but if you plan on splattering the deck with his blood, please let me know first. Cleaning's a bitch,” Fury said as he released Jormungandr and stepped back. A second later, he seemed to twitch a little and snorted softly, “That warm fuzzy feeling...”

“Geas contract completion,” Loki supplemented as Jormungandr raised a silent eyebrow at him. Fury snorted again before taking another step back and Loki turned his attention to the healer who was staring at him with a sullen look.

“Loki-”

“If you dare interfere Thor, you will forfeit the geas even if it has been completed. By allowing Director Fury to give Jormungandr to me meant you renounced all claims upon which Jormungandr here is accused of by the Allfather. He is under my custody now,” he pinned Thor in place with a pointed look and saw his brother's frown deepen.

“But-”

“I but only need one thing from him. Then you can do as you please,” he countered and saw Thor shake his head in resignation before stepping back once more. He looked back at the healer who now had some wariness in his eyes.

“You think it's wise being so close to him? Could be a repeat of what happened with Fenrir,” Romanoff muttered near him and Loki heard Rogers shifting his feet directly behind him, but he ignored them. The magicks used in the muzzle and chains hummed against Loki's own and he knew that it at least prevented a shapeshift from humanoid form to animal form. But to him, it still did not confirm whether or not it truly was Jormungandr. He was very sure that it was, but there was one other...test...if one wanted to call it, that he knew would be able to confirm it was the Midgard serpent.

“Your sentence could have been commuted,” he started softly so that his words only carried to the young man before him. His form was Asgardian in looks and appearances, but Loki knew from the days of the coterie that it was only through their upbringing that both Fenrir and Jormungandr had such forms; similar to the skin he wore instead of the blue tones of a Frost Giant. The difference that marked them not Asgardian was their abilities to shapeshift naturally instead of invoking a spell or magicks. No one knew precisely _what_ they were, but Loki had his own theories that he never voiced.

Jormungandr's glare spoke the silent thoughts,  _You put me here_ .

“You put yourself there, Jor,” he saw the young man flinch at the usage of his nickname amongst the coterie. Vali had decided that Jormungandr was too much of a mouthful to pronounce during the early days of the coterie and had insisted he'd be called every name under the sun until Sigyn made the decision to call him Jor. “You, your brother, everyone you claimed to care for. It was most likely not your idea in the first place, but you provided the means,” he continued, “and now here you are.”

_I do not care for such trivialities_ , the healer looked away from him _._

“Do you know why you were spared?” Loki asked and saw those blue eyes whip back to stare at him, half-shocked, half-derisive before the serpent jangled his chains a little, mocking the fact that he was 'spared.'

Loki laughed lightly, a tight mirthless smile, “Because by some misguided heart that I once had, you apparently were not privy to the whole of the plan. So I spared you.”

_I do not believe you, liar_ , Jormungandr's eyes narrowed a little,  _it was guilt eating at you, Trickster. Guilt for killing kin and kith. Guilt for shedding the blood of the coterie when we sworn oaths to each other. You are oathbreaker._

“Of course I am the oathbreaker,” Loki countered, his smile widening a little at the childish argument Jormungandr had thrown at him. “I am the Trickster God.” He took a silent deep breath and moved his right arm so that it hovered in between them. While he and Jormungandr had been talking, he had gingerly unraveled the bandages from his injured arm after lifting it out of the sling. It had hurt, but he had refused to let it distract him as he talked and the Midgard serpent answered with his eyes.

“Do you like your handiwork?” this close to their faces, he could see through the gaping holes into the metallic floor of the hanger bay as he rotated it gently back and forth. Black ichor still dripped, but the blue-gold hues of the cure still battled it. He could feel beads of sweat popping out on his face at trying to hold back the waves of agony at the movement he was inflicting on his wound. The dizziness was also making it hard to concentrate, but he kept himself composed, in control.

_It is a masterpiece_ , there was arrogance in the young healer's eyes as they flicked down to the arm and back up, but Loki also sensed the deeply hidden false bravado in them.  _I am pleased that Fenrir wounded you. It is a pity he could not tear your throat out and ravage you_ .

“A masterpiece of your making,” Loki acknowledged, “perhaps it is also to be shared with its maker.” He had not even finished speaking when he pulled the dagger-encased modular out from the spaces in between, ignoring the fiery rivets of pain that protested his abrupt movements with his right hand. Breaking the spell on the modular, he heard movement near him as he gripped the still-poisoned dagger in his injured hand and plunged it deep into Jormungandr's chest, right above his heart.

The reactions were immediate as out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Thor and the others move forward, to either stop him or to do something he did not care. He instead, stared at the Midgard serpent whose eyes had gone wide as soon as the poisoned dagger pierced him. Black lines raced up and down his already pale features, the poison doing its quick work as Loki kept his hand on the hilt, but suddenly the black lines were erased in shoot streaks of green.

The streaks raced across, just underneath Jormungandr's skin, searching for the cause and Loki braced himself as a split second later, the green streaks burst forth from the wound, engulfing the dagger, streaming up towards the hilt onto his hand- He nearly gasped at the suddenness of the powerful healing spell that slammed into his wound, roaring forth with the force of a thousand falling stars, howling their fury in a meteoric roar that was seemingly in his ears. White-hot pain engulfed his senses as it eradicated all traces of the poison. He nearly stumbled and lost his grip on the hilt of the dagger as, his muscles clenched and unclenched in an effort to try to process what was happening when just as suddenly, silence.

Loki blinked once, as if waking from a dream before he pulled the dagger out, Jormungandr's innate power immediately healing it as webs of green streaks seemingly sealed the wound as if it never happened, leaving only the tatters of ripped cloth and partially stained neckerchief. His right hand ached and he pulled back the sleeve, staring at now less of a gaping wound and more of the remnants of a fairly large animal bite mark. Blood still oozed from the wound due to his actions, but they were no longer dripping black ichor nor showing stark white bone.

“What the fuck just happened?” Director Fury had drawn his gun, but it was pointed to the ground and Loki looked up to see the leader of SHIELD staring at him with an unreadable gaze. “I thought-”

“The bindings do suppress Jormungandr's magicks, but he is not of Vanir or Asgardian mage blood. This was more...instinctive,” he tapped the point of his dagger against the palm of his other hand.

“Loki....”

“The cure worked, but only to a certain extent,” he looked at Thor who had taken several steps forward, Mjolnir in his hand, “and this has all but confirmed that you have captured Jormungandr. Only he would have the means to save himself from his own poison.”

“Doesn't give you the right to stab an unarmed prisoner,” he heard Stark mutter near them and ignored the man of iron's remarks. He did not understand nor did Loki expect him to.

“Tony...”

“Told you he's a psychopath,” Stark responded to his fellow metal-armored friend's tone of resignation.

“You may do what you wish of him Thor. I have no further use for him,” Loki said as he slid the dagger into his boot and turned around.

“Loki-”

He ignored whatever else Thor was about to say and headed back to the medical ward. Even though he had purged his body of the poison by proxy with Jormungandr's instinctive survival magicks, he knew that he still needed rest. Shock would soon be setting in as his own body compensated for the foreign magicks that he had taken from Jormungandr. It would be rectified with some rest as his body converted the foreign magicks into his own, but it was also a very tiring process.

The coterie had learned to share magicks with each other when they were learning from Death, one of the first lessons learned to ensure their survival from such a teacher. However, it was also something that they all knew was as dangerous as learning how to do it. There was a mental fortitude that had to be mastered before taking someone else's magicks into them – something many of Death's students could not handle. Those that did, more than likely ended up psychotic or brain-dead. Then there were the rare few who mastered a transfer only to fall prey to the next one. There was also the fact that it was a battle of wills to convert the foreign magicks within the body and it was something Loki needed solitude for. The medical ward with its privacy curtains and pretending to sleep was as good as any place.

He arrived in short order and immediately drew the curtains back around the bed as he laid upon it. Closing his eyes, he settled himself, retreating deep within and drew upon the strength of his magick and began the process.

* * *

When Loki next opened his eyes, the medical ward was quiet and glance at the Midgardian clock told him that it was the early hours of morning. He sat up, feeling a little stiff from the lack of movement. Glancing down at his right hand, he absently flexed it, feeling the pull of pain and muscles that were still not healed. He also noticed that someone had put fresh dressings upon his arm. The fact that he had not been disturbed since returning the poison to Jormungandr surprised him. But he supposed that perhaps Thor and the others thought him to have been exhausted by whatever he had done; after all he had used his injured arm to stab the dagger back into Jormungandr.

He absently rubbed his chest and stopped, a frown on his face. Rubbing one's chest was usually a sign that the conversion process had not finished and he closed his eyes briefly, delving deep within his core to find that he had only finished half of the process. His body was still weakened from the initial poisoning and from the wolf-bite that it was taking a long time to convert the magick. So what woke him up?

He cast his senses out, trying to feel if there was a portal or any magical signature around that was hostile. The patients in the medical ward were still sleeping, some of them under the influence of a hazy influence that he supposed was the 'drugs' that Dr. Banner and Streiten had talked about. Nothing immediate caught his attention, but there was seemingly  _something_ that did not seem right. He opened his eyes again and pursed his lips. He could easily return back to the place in between meditation and sleep to continue the process, but the quiet snore by his left side made him look over to see Thor sleeping on the rickety chair that he had occupied before.

Thor's presence by his bedside meant that he could  _not_ ignore what seemed  _wrong_ , not with Fenrir and Hel still unaccounted for. He saw Sif sleeping in a chair that had been pulled next to Romanoff's bedside on the right hand side and surmised that the two had been talking with each other. The Warriors Three themselves were not in the medical ward and Loki did not sense their presence nearby which more than likely meant they had returned to Asgard with Jormungandr.

He knew from experience that whenever Thor's life was in danger, the Warriors Three and Lady Sif would never leave his side, or if they did, they would not go very far. The only time they would not be by Thor's side was if they had apprehended the assassin or had left on Thor's orders.

He shook his head and swung his legs quietly across the bed and stood up. He considered setting an illusion, but decided against it. It would be a waste of magicks and he did not care if the others did not see him there. Slipping on his boots, he instead, muffled his footsteps with another spell and quickly left the medical ward. Outside in the main corridor of the Helicarrier, he cast his senses out, trying to pinpoint the source of the  _wrongness_ that he had felt. It was just barely hovering at the edges of his senses and he knew that if he was not so in tune with the magicks in his core due to the conversion process, he would have completely missed it.

He followed it as if it were a thread and soon arrived back at the hanger bay. Loki paused, straightening as he looked around the vast expanse where the quinjets still sat after landing earlier in the day. There was a near silence that was only drowned out by the roar of the Helicarrier's engines and howl of the wind at the edges of the hanger bay.

“Why am I not surprised,” he muttered mostly to himself as he stepped out, wary of an ambush of sorts. The sense of _wrong_ that had led him here seemingly congealed and collated like a blot of sorts on his senses. The source of it was here, he was sure of it. If only-

“Took you long enough to show your face,” the voice spoke up from behind one of the quinjets.

A mirthless smile appeared on Loki's face as he saw Fenrir step out from the side, dressed in the simple uniform of a SHIELD agent – black bodysuit that also doubled as armor. “Your tactic of infiltration so soon after being discovered would have worked had I not been here, Fenrir.”

“It was easy to dispose of one of the agents that came to support Agent Couslon and his team in Cardiff,” Fenrir shrugged, his tone nonchalant, almost dismissive. “And yes, it would have succeeded, but that is not why I did it.”

“Oh?” Loki stepped to the side as Fenrir waved his hand, dispelling the illusion of the SHIELD agent armor and instead, wore the simple tunic and robes of a traveler, the same ones he had worn when he had been handed down his punishment. Blue with golden edging and a brown homespun robe, Loki remembered that Fenrir liked the simplistic look, citing that it made for blending in with the populace on the realms a lot easier than standing out in the gaudiness of royal armor and clothing. It had been meant as a jest back when he had explained why he dressed like peasantry for the most part, but also was able to pull off royal attire when the need for it arose.

The mercenary wolf-assassin shook his head and smiled, “You still do not understand, after all this time?”

“What is there to understand?” he sidestepped as he kept his eyes on Fenrir. There was no doubt that Fenrir meant to lure him out here and Loki knew that he was still in a weakened state where the former assassin would have an advantage over him. The only saving grace was that he could clearly see burnt marks upon his clothes and persons; a sign that his injured wolf-form was not able to conceal. But how injured was Fenrir, he did not know. The security footage on Thor's tablet did not show much and Hel had clearly blocked the camera's access to Fenrir when she collected him.

Fenrir laughed, a sour sounding laugh, “There had been a plan, but why follow the orders of another when what you want the most is in front of you?”

Loki scoffed, shaking his head, “Still delusional and nothing but a rabid dog. Why not just  _take_ it? Take the revenge you so seek-”

The only warning Loki had was Fenrir disappearing before his eyes and he automatically drew out the dagger in his boot. He managed to parry the sudden blow of a sceptre as it crashed down on his head, Fenrir reappearing with a sadistic smile on his face. His chipped blue eyes were alight with madness.

Loki broke the parry with a feint and stepped back, dagger held up in a defensive position as he fired off a bolt of fire, Fenrir ducking underneath it before charging at him. He met the blade of the sceptre again and twisted, his coat whirl about him as he held his hand up, warding off a bolt of blue from the sceptre and took two steps back, his breath coming in rapid gasps as he straightened and glared at the mage.

“Do you recognize it?” Fenrir's smile stretched across his face as he gestured to the elongated sceptre he held in his right hand. It had an ornate golden body, befitting a king of Asgard. What crowned the bladed area was a blue gem that was unlike the power of the Tesseract itself. “A craftsmanship like no other-”

“You think you can bend my will to your own-”

“Oh, no, dear Loki, not with your contract with Thanos. No...I intend to cleave you in half with the very weapon you used against the Midgardians,” Fenrir gripped the glaive into his hands and fired off several bolts. “It is quite silly of them to have left this on the Helicarrier all this time. A few spells and I was able to easily take it from their hapless...scientists.”

Loki rolled to the side and blocked two of them with a hastily erected shield, before firing off several spells at Fenrir who easily blocked with a swipe of his arm. A second later, alarms began to blare across the hanger bay and lights flashed, bathing the two of them in a myriad of colors.

“Well now, we cannot have that happening,” Fenrir waved his hand and an invisible wave of magick spread from him, and Loki resisted the urge to flinch as the wave passed harmlessly through him.

Instead, he wiped his brow, taking the moment to quickly assess his own being and noted to his dismay that his breath was coming in a little too fast. He forced himself to calm down, having not fought his coterie in a long time and an even longer time since he had sparred with Fenrir. The last time he had fought them, he had the advantage of surprise and the help of the Allfather. This time...it was only Fenrir and the Chitauri Tesseract powered weapon he held.

“You think it wise to divide your attention to a barrier spell to prevent the others from entering?” he asked as he switched his dagger to his left hand, his right aching from half-healed wounds. He could still feel Jormungandr's magicks coursing within him, a living writhing thing that clashed with his own core and knew that a protracted fight with Fenrir was not doing him any favors.

“You think it wise to fight with Jor's magick still unconverted within you?” Fenrir countered, “oh yes, I saw what you did to my brother. Though it pained me to see that, it was a necessary sacrifice.”

“Jormungandr had it coming,” Loki shrugged, watching as Fenrir lowered his arm, seemingly satisfied with whatever barrier spell he had put into place. He knew Thor and the others would have taken advantage of the fact that Fenrir was distracted by putting the barrier spell in place and attacked. But that was what separated him from Thor's nearly mindless hit-it-and-be-done-with approach to anything with magicks. A lifetime of experience told him that Fenrir wanted him to attack, _wanted_ him to make the mistake and that was when he would strike. He ignored the subtle compulsion spell.

“I am not Thor,” he felt the _compulsion_ die away as he stared at Fenrir who only smiled and shrugged.

“And if you were, you would not have done what you had done to us,” the wolf-mage replied before looking thoughtful, “though perhaps you would have reconsidered regicide after everything that has happened?”

“No,” Loki was mildly surprised at how easy the negative fell from his lips as Fenrir stared at him, equally surprised at his answer.

“No? Not after your heritage, Frost Giant, Jotun, the monster whom all little Asgardians are told will steal them in the night if they disobey their parents' orders? After all of your efforts to be noticed failed and the Allfather cast you out-”

“I _fell_ from the Bifrost-”

“Your file says you insist that you were _thrown_ ,” Fenrir countered.

“Or thrown,” Loki knew what he was getting at, what he wanted him to admit. While there was a very small part of him that _wanted_ the plot of regicide to happen now that every secret had been laid bare, that part was miniscule compared to the consequences _of_ regicide.

“Come now, old friend,” Fenrir's tone became a little more congenial and Loki tensed, wary of another lighting fast attack, “surely you want to see the Allfather dead, Thor kneeling in fealty to you, triumphing over-”

“Why speak of goals so lofty if you cannot deliver them?” he interrupted, sensing something gathering in the air, something ancient and powerful. He could not pinpoint it and that worried him.

“I can...I did,” Fenrir's blue eyes bore into him, the smile gone from his face as his voice dropped into a mere whisper, “I could have given you the throne of Asgard. I _wanted_ to.”

Loki fell silent as he realized what Fenrir was truly after. Fenrir had all but confirmed that there had been a plan, more than likely enacted by Hel and himself had agreed to it on the condition that his younger brother Jormungandr was also freed. Thor had been the target, but when Fenrir had finally confronted him in the hanger bay days ago, the sight of Loki's appearance from the portal had overridden the rationale to follow the plan. Fenrir must have abandoned it then and there and only sought revenge for what had happened to him and the coterie.

“We could have ruled, Loki,” what he had taken for scoffing, sourness, congeniality he now recognized as a scorned madness in the shapeshifting mage's voice. Madness nurtured for hundreds of years of imprisonment, madness for the betrayal that Loki had caused to him. “You and I,” Fenrir continued, “we could have ruled and no one would have opposed us. I would have protected you with my body and my soul, my life if you deemed it. We could have been as great as the magisters of old.

“But no, no, no, no, you _threw it away!_ You threw it away because of one pissant of a brother that you could not live without! You threw it away because of _Thor!_ ” he suddenly snarled, his eyes widening with anger and madness, “Because you did not have the guts to _do what was right_ , what was just! Thor and everyone like him would have never accepted us so you _knew_ it was the right thing to do! You knew it! The spoiled Prince who decided that he wanted to be _shunned_ because he could not stand to see his boorish brother, the same brother who _does not and will never care one wit for him_.”

Loki could feel the churning of dangerous, powerful magicks and braced himself as he pricked the tip of one of his fingers with the dagger before sheathing it. He had no doubts that while Fenrir blocked all access to the hanger bay in order to fight him one-on-one, he was fully aware of the cameras that had to be tracking their every move. If there was one thing Fenrir loved, it was an audience to witness the result of his kills, even if no one saw him do the deed. Whether Fury or the others could hear their conversation was another story, but at this point Loki did not care.

“We could have ruled and we could have shown those hiding that there was nothing to fear. That magicks was not unnatural, that it was meant to be used, meant to protect the weak from the bullying strong. That we were as warriors as those who claimed that warriors would do without magick, that we were the _same_...” the mage continued, his breath shaking a little.

His eyes shone with unshed tears as a bubble of delirious laughter fell from his lips, “I loved you, my Prince. I loved you because you gave me a purpose, a sense of being that no one else had ever given to me and  _you threw it away!_ ” Fenrir drew in a shaky breath as a single tear fell from his eyes, “Do you not remember the nights we shared? The secrets whispered, your wishes? I  _wanted_ to give them to you, because you  _cared_ . You accepted me when others shunned my brother and I.”

“What...nothing to say?” Fenrir asked, his voice cracking with scorn as Loki slowly straightened, chin tilted up to stare down at his fellow mage.

He silently summoned the pocket of the spaces in between and took out the modular that contained Helblindi's gift. At the same time, his fingers brushed over the tessellation that had been used against Thanos on the Rainbow Bridge. Ambassador Ymir had said that it was proof of life that had flourished from the return of the Casket of Ancient Winters, but Loki was pretty sure that it was not exactly the truth. He did not know King Helblindi, having encountered him only four times, but based on the brief conversation they had after he had been revived by the Casket, he had a feeling that whatever was contained in the modular, it was something to aid him.

“What do you have back there? Hmm?” Fenrir's voice turned congenial once more before waving an absent hand at him, “no matter, it will not save you.” He laughed lightly, “You should have followed that compulsion, Loki, it would have saved you a lot of pain in the long run. I am sorry for doing this.”

It could have been easy for him to easily say, “No you are not,” to Fenrir, but Loki knew that the other man wanted him to answer. Fenrir was not worth the effort, he had long decided. Just when he was about to make his move, he felt his breath left him as spikes of white-hot agony erupted across his injured arm. He gasped and involuntarily cradled his arm as the strength went out on his knees. The hum of magicks that had been slowly gathering, prickling at him, warning him, shrieked in his mind as he felt something seemingly  _claw_ its way out, an oozing unclean thing that hissed and boiled-

Loki gritted his teeth and refused to scream as he felt like his soul was being ripped apart, his magicks wavering, slipping in and out of his grasp... He pressed the droplet of blood that had welled on the tip of his fingers against the modular that held Helblindi's gift, hoping, praying to the Norns that it was not too late-

And with a brush of artic  _cold_ that lit a glowing blue against his face, he suddenly felt the cool hilt of metal form in his hand and reacted without thinking, whirling half on his knees to block the blow from the shadow-creature that been ripped from his very being. The howling hiss of inhuman  _animal_ grated on his ears as he successfully blocked the swipe of long dark claws that oozed with the black ichor of poison. It was translucently green in color and was seemingly pure magicks.

“Very good, my Prince,” Fenrir seemingly whispered on the corners of his ears, goading him to attack behind him, but Loki was too used to the same tricks and instead, used the butt of the glaive that had formed in his hand to knock the assassin to the ground with a side swipe.

At the same time, he rolled to the side and stood up, blocking this way and that from swipes of angry claws. Blood magick was extremely dangerous and unstable, but highly effective when it came to certain spells. Fenrir had used it to drag out the unconverted remnants of his brother Jormungandr's magick within him, while he had used it as a mirror spell, against the modular that had been given to him. He had not had time to admire the glaive that now rested in his hands, having grown to its full length to save him from being skewered by a phantom-summom. But from what he could gather, it looked eerily similar to the Tesseract-based sceptre Fenrir wielded as he followed in wake of the shadow-creature's attacks, looking for an opportunity to strike.

He whirled, smashing the end of the glaive into the creature, driving it away with the force of his blow before splaying fingers out and shot off two destructive spells at Fenrir who blocked them into one of the quinjets, making it explode. His injured arm burned with the channeling of his magicks, but he shunted the pain away. Loki summoned a shield to block the flying debris, reinforcing it slightly as the hiss of flying metal came in contact with his shield as it dissolved. A second later, he thrust forward with his blade, the eerie blue-white glow of the stone set around the blade pulsating with the swirl of his power and fired.

The ancient howl of a thousand snowstorms roared forth as a smile involuntarily crept of his face, a jet of the destructive power of the Casket of Ancient Winters spewing forth. With the glaive as his focuser, he could feel the drain of magicks lessening upon himself. And combined with the stone of power fashioned from the Casket of Ancient Winters, he at least had a better chance at keeping Fenrir at bay than with just his dagger. He noted that his skin did not change color like it usually did whenever in contact with anything Jotun-related, as he swept the torrent of glacial ice in a spray. The remnants of the quinjet immediately cooled and turned to ice as did several parts of the hanger bay before he stopped it.

“Feeling more at home now?” Loki spun to his _left_ at Fenrir's ghostly voice seeming in his _right_ ear and blocked an overhead strike.

At the same time he kicked, his boot meeting the gut of the shadowy creature who howled and skittered away. He twisted his wrists, breaking the block and thrust forward with the butt of the glaive, slamming the end into Fenrir's chin and struck with the other end, meeting his blade once more. Loki fired off a blast of arctic magicks, but it just missed freezing Fenrir's head.

He tightened his grip on the blade, ignoring the creak of bones and further injury as Fenrir pressed on his strike. He suddenly twisted out of the way, rolling sideways, avoiding two bolts of blue that struck various parts of the hanger bay before pain exploded across his chest. He hissed and bowed slightly, ignoring the burn wound from the fire spell that had been shot at him. Burning flesh and pain were only a distraction as he lunged forward turning his wrist inward, turning aside Fenrir's blade as he sought to press his advantage. At the same time, he took another step towards him and unceremoniously swept the butt end of the glaive into the shapeshifter's knee, sending him crashing into the ground with a loud pained yell as his knee shattered from the force of his blow.

However, instead of taking advantage of Fenrir on the ground, he shortened his grip on the glaive and swung it high above his head. A split second later, halfway through the apex of his swing, he caught the animalistic pained howl of the shadowy creature as it had launched itself at him, trying to pin him from above. The blade bit deep into the creature as he sent it flying into another quinjet, punching a hole clear through it before sending a fireball straight at it followed by two dagger bolts with a wave of his hand. He was resolutely not staring at the whiteness of bone, bloodied red of muscles, nerves, and blood vessels as the healing magicks that  _had_ been within him courtesy of Jormungandr were now in the quinjet.

The resulting explosion ripped apart the quinjet and metal, liquid fuel, and metal bits flying into the air as a wall of fire surrounded the point of impact. He could hear the inhuman howls of the shadow creature as it was trapped within the fiendish fire and felt his arm and hand throb in response as he tried to tighten his grip on the glaive once more. Part of the magick that fueled the shadow-creature was also converted within him, but it was also the only way to contain the rogue magick that Fenrir had extracted from him. Technically it was still a part of him, but had enough of the blood-bond to Jormungandr that Fenrir had been able to turn it against him so that it only attacked him.

He turned and barely dodged a slash by Fenrir as he stumbled a little, his injured leg barely supporting him. A feral smile touched the corner of Loki's lips as he saw the shapeshifter glaring at him, angry that he had now a serious injury to contend with.

“Hurts, does it not, Loki?” Fenrir huffed a pained breath and he shrugged, still keeping his silence. He did not deserve an answer, not after everything. “You may have physically injured me, but remember, it is just a pain that can be magicked away. You will lose and I will have my revenge. You, operating at what, a quarter of your strength, half of that had been dedicated in converting Jor's magick, and the poison-”

Loki knew that Fenrir was trying to plan another attack while talking to distract him, make him pause, and instead, reacted, surging forward, willing his hand to keep it's proper grip on the glaive as he struck. He saw the assassin grin in response before shuffling awkwardly backwards, blocking his strike before retaliating with his own. He blocked that strike before the two traded blows back and forth, Fenrir quickly adapting to his injury even though he was clearly in pain.

He extended his arms forward, trying to smash the length of his glaive into Fenrir's, but the assassin dodged quickly and Loki turned the opposite way, slicing deep into-only to see the illusion dissolve as he cursed silently. He spun, wary for an attack as his instincts screamed – there! He barely blocked the skewering thrust, the Tesseract-powered blade cutting a shallow line into him-

Loki suddenly lost his grip on his own weapon as he felt the muscles spasm, contracting painfully at the same time he heard the dying howls of the shadow-creature that had been trapped within the fiendish fire. He belatedly realized that the creature had been ordered to commit suicide by throwing itself into the borders of the fire by Fenrir. At the same time, he stumbled and fell to the ground as Fenrir took advantage of his weakened state and disarmed him, throwing the glaive high into the air and to the side where it skittered to a stop by some debris.

Loki instinctively rolled, missing the gouging thrust where his head used to be and drew out his dagger as he stood up, holding his injured hand close to his side as it continued to spasm and twitch on its own. Fenrir was no where in sight-

He suddenly dropped the dagger and raised his uninjured arm towards his neck at the same time he felt the attack from behind. A flash of pain exploded across his left forearm before he instinctively tightened his muscles and pushed  _against_ the pressure that was forced on it, preventing himself from being choked, just so. At the same time, he could feel Fenrir pressing against his back, trying to break his neck with the length of the tesseract-powered sceptre, having used it as a staff instead of the bladed part.

A resounding thumping crash followed by the smell of ozone made the two of them look towards the sound and Loki saw one of the doors to the hanger bay starting to warp, crackling with bits of electricity. A trickle of relief filled him as he knew Thor was valiantly trying to get in, but he knew that Fenrir had him at an advantage.

“It is a wonder what you see in that fool, Loki,” this close to Fenrir, he could feel his breath tickling the nape of his neck and into his ear, “what would bind him to you as a brother, the familial love that would drive you to betray us, betray me.”

Loki choked a little as he fought against the metal of the sceptre, his breath coming in shallow gasps as his left arm creaked. There were definitely fractures to the bone, he could feel it as he tried to make his right arm work, to obey his commands. It spasmed against his side, flailing like a dead thing in its last throes of life as the howls of the shadow-creature dying in the fire resonated with his wound.

“He will never accept you for who you are. His claims of brotherhood, of familial sentiment and acceptance are false as he does not understand you like I did, like the rest of the coterie did. We were your brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, wives, and husbands. We were for you to command,” Fenrir hissed and Loki could almost feel him biting his ear.

The resounding crack that echoed in the hanger bay was followed by the roar of Mjolnir and bolts of lightning that skittered across metal as Thor rushed in followed by the rest of the Avengers and Lady Sif. They skidded to a stop as Fenrir tightened his grip across the sceptre in a warning not to get close.

“Fenrir-”

“I really do not understand,” Fenrir's voice was loud this close to Loki's ear as he talked to the others who pointed their weapons at them – or in Dr. Banner's case, started to take his glasses off to transform into the Hulk. To his dark amusement, only Agent Barton had an arrow pointed straight at his face. “Why-”

And that was when Loki snapped his fingers, releasing the spell as the tessellation did its perfect work once more. It fluttered to the ground like a leaf on the wind as Fenrir stumbled and pitched forward. The force of Fenrir trying to hold him into a choke hold became non-existent as he tried to straighten-

Loki stepped forward from the shadows  _behind_ Fenrir and immediately wrapped his uninjured forearm across the other's neck, his injured left hand digging into his hair. The muscle spasms twitched his hold a little as he heard, rather than saw, Fenrir's smile.

“For him, Loki?” the assassin knew he was trapped, but sounded so proud that he had been outwitted.

“No,” he replied quietly and snapped Fenrir's neck, killing him instantly, before releasing his hold and let the body flop to the ground, “for me.”

But before the others could say anything, he lifted his other hand and summoned the pair of magick suppressing manacles on Sif's belt using the twist of magick left in him.

“What-”

Thor never finished whatever he was going to say as Loki spun on his heel and snapped the manacles on Hel's wrists who had suddenly appeared by Fenrir's dead body. He could see the corners of her lips twitching in her approximation of a pleased smile underneath the light rose-colored ringlets of her hair. She was happy that he had anticipated her and he shook his head.

“You may escort Fenrir to your realm after the Allfather's judgment,” he said quietly, trying to mask the utter exhaustion in his voice as it echoed in the near silent hanger bay.

“You are within your rights, my Prince,” Hel replied, her voice monotone and cold. Nonetheless, she stood patiently as he left her side and reached down to pick the tessellation up from where it had fallen to the ground.

“Hey, isn't that what...Thanos...Infinity Gauntlet...on the Bridge?” he heard Stark whisper to Rogers as he turned his back on them and headed to where Fenrir had kicked the Casket of Ancient Winters-based glaive. He picked it up, hefting it slightly as he walked back, resisting the urge to use it as a cane to support the exhaustion that was now rolling waves over him.

“Loki-”

He ignored Thor's concern and worry that was evident all over his face, having lowered his hammer now that the threat had passed. He gestured to Hel who preceded him to where the Bifrost site was.

“You're not taking the Tesseract weapon?” Fury's voice made him pause and turn to see the sceptre lying near Fenrir's body.

“Consider it a gift,” he replied before turning back around and walked to the site, allowing himself to finally use the glaive as a support mechanism as he stood next to Hel. “Heimdall, open the Bifrost,” he called out before his vision was blinded by the screaming starlight.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Since I said I had a specific actor in mind for Fenrir (Alexander Vlahos), Jormungandr also has a specific actor in mind – namely Colin Morgan in his Merlin attire. Anyway, yes, Loki and Fenrir along with Loki and Sigyn were lovers in the past according to my story and yes, the actual Norse myths say differently. I really should write the backstory to this...hmm...may consider it, may just write an abbreviated summary of sorts. Eh...

 


	14. Chapter 14

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 14_

 

The gardens were supposed to be for the royal family only, a sanctuary of sorts that Loki had long loved to hide away in and not be bothered. The library was another place as well as his own rooms with his experiments littering the area. But Eir had insisted that the outdoors of Asgard would do his health some good and so Loki had found himself in the gardens, tome in hand as he sat on a leafy branch in one of the large trees. So when he heard the distant sound of Thor's boisterous voice followed by the pattering of what had to be a herd of sorts, or just several people, he looked up from his tome to see his brother gesturing around the veranda that led _out_ into the gardens as he walked past several of the narrow windows.

Flashes of color, most dark, a few bright, followed by the distinctive look of Midgardian clothing soured Loki's stomach as he realized Thor had brought his friends up from Midgard. He was apparently _showing_ them what was supposed to be a _private_ sanctuary of all things.

He grimaced, knowing that he could easily cast a cloaking spell so that he would not be noticed in the next few seconds before Thor exited the veranda and out into the gardens with his friends, but also took heed of Eir's advice not to cast _any_ magick. He vaguely remembered returning to Asgard a week ago with Hel in tow, or led the details were hazy, before immediately taken to the Healing Halls. Everything for the next two days was a blur as he vaguely recalled Thor's visage explaining something to Eir and even to Frigga as they stood by his bedside.

Clarity came to him only five days ago with Eir telling him in no certain terms would he cast any drop of magick because he tried to use Jormungandr's unconverted remains upon himself and it needed time to settle into his core. She would conduct a daily check upon his core to ensure that no one would rip it from him like Fenrir had and had stared at him with disapproval before allowing him to leave with his injured arm bandaged, but healing. Loki had considered disobeying Eir's orders, but at the same time knew that the healer was right. Even though whatever was left of Jormungandr's magick that he had taken from him, had been ripped out by Fenrir, there were still jagged pieces, rough edges, splinters left in him. That type of magick could easily manifest itself again and attack him from within, it was a form of blood magick after all.

For the last five days he had wandered the halls of the palace, only attending the Allfather once to find out that Hel and Jormungandr were awaiting their fates in the lower level cells. The whispers of why the two had not been prosecuted and sentenced had spread through the Court, but there was also the equal rumor that the Midgardians were finally attempting to join the other eight realms. Odin had been silent on the matter, even with the prodding of his other advisors before they realized that he would not speak of the matter unless it was prudent.

So hearing that the Avengers were following Thor, as he apparently was giving a tour of the palace and surrounding areas, made Loki aware that the Allfather had finally considered allowing the mortals to join the other eight realms. At least Thor seemed happy.

He had barely seen his brother since he had left the Healing Halls and figured that Thor was perhaps busy trying to negotiate the Midgardians access to Asgard by petitioning the Allfather. At the same time he had probably spent time on Midgard hopefully teaching the Midgardians the customs and rights of opening a treatise or even negotiations with Asgard. At least that was what Loki hoped – for all he knew Thor was more than likely dense and thought it a great opportunity to ensure that his friends were accepted amongst the Court.

Which was far likelier than getting his own coterie accepted, but that was beside the point.

The Midgardians had proved that they were warriors first and foremost and at least the Court would be impressed by it. Judging by how awed most were of the green monster, the Hulk, and how they had fought only a year ago against Thanos, the Court would accept them more than if the coterie had been in their place. But the fact that the Midgardians were trying to open negotiations in the first place...it had to be Director Fury spearheading the campaign. The fact that he had convinced Thor to bring the matter to the Allfather and push for it meant that Fury was completely serious that Midgard, or rather, Earth, was ready for a higher form of war.

Considering how much chaos and destruction he and the Chitauri had wrought a little over a year ago in one of their major cities, Loki had a very low opinion that Midgard or the mortals for that matter, was ready for the galactic politics of the other eight realms. One Muspelheim fire demon or even a bligesnipe would easily wreck a path of destruction and only three mages had just recently proven that the Avengers could not contain the fires of war and chaos. Perhaps Fury had other plans and this was more a symbolic gesture – it would seem prudent for what he knew and saw of the mortal leader of SHIELD and Avengers. But in less than a century, he would be replaced and things would change.

In a hundred years, perhaps the mortals would be destroyed back to the age of fire pits and woolen furs; maybe sooner if what he had picked from Agent Barton's mind was true. Midgard had _a lot_ of internal conflicts that more often than not ended up with loss of life amongst themselves. There was no strong leader to unite them and that _had_ been his aim when he brought the Chitauri amongst them. Still conquest of the mayflies that were mortals did not interest him any more, though perhaps he considered revisiting the idea in another century or two. Let the Avengers and SHIELD think that they had the upper hand at the moment. It was just a blink of an eye to him.

There was the hurried sound of scuffling as Loki looked up from reading to see the gold cloak of one of the household guards hurrying into the room.

“My pardon, my Prince. I did not realize you had guests here,” the guard murmured.

“It is of no consequence,” Thor's voice rumbled from the narrow windows of the veranda.

“I was told that Prince Loki was here...”

The surprised silent that was only a second or two from Thor nearly made Loki snort derisively, but he restrained himself lest he give his position away in the leafy tree. His brother had _not_ expected him to be in the private gardens, or either had forgotten that these were _private_ gardens and not for raucous tours for friends or the like. Granted each of them had used the gardens for other purposes, but that was each their own secret.

“Perhaps he is out within the gardens...” Thor nearly stuttered before the guard's boots told him that the guard had acknowledged the words and headed out. Loki saw the armor first before the sound of boots faded as he stepped onto cut grass and dirt beds.

“Sire,” the guard called out, looking around. There was a very brief moment Loki considered answering. The guard would no doubt continue to call and search, but stay well out of the deeper part of the gardens in deference to the royal family's privacy. However, there was also the possibility that Thor would be curious and his usual boisterous self to search him out, even with the Avengers around and he had no desire to interact with the Avengers.

For the brief times Loki had spied Thor in Asgard, his brother had given no indication that he had heard the secrets spilled in the hanger bay by Fenrir. Previous footage taken from the hanger bay indicated that there was no sound on the video feeds, but that did not mean that SHIELD was idiotic enough to _not_ listen in on every single conversation. Then again, he had somewhat avoided Thor all this time – wanting some relative peace and quiet in wake of what had happened in the past two weeks.

He had not even gone to the cells where Hel and Jormungandr were awaiting their fates. The Court knew of what happened, Odin would have made sure to publicly parade both Jormungandr and Hel around, to ease fears that the coterie had risen once more. And since the Court knew, all of Asgard and the realms knew too; and all eyes had been constantly following him whenever he walked the halls. He had not feasted with the others since his return and barring the only single audience with the Allfather, had mostly kept himself out of sight.

So then, why would a guard be sent instead of a page from the Allfather or even his ravens? As if summoned by his own thoughts, the sharp, but faint caw of Muugin followed by the flap of his wings made Loki look up to see the bird coming in for a landing on his shoulder. The bird nudged him with seemingly harsh affection before adjusting its perch with its stick-thin talons, but made no other noise to announce to the others that it was here. One of its beady black eyes seemingly bore into his own as he arched an eyebrow at the bird and Loki swore there was a faint amused smirk in that beady eye – a little like his own if he was not mistaken.

“...Sire...” the voice of the guard had moved away and he peered beyond the leafy branches to see him searching deeper into the gardens, peering around bushes, tall plants, and the like to see if he was sitting or wandering anywhere.

Loki had started to consider his options once more when the sound of a very loud sneeze echoed through the veranda followed by several voices saying, “Bless you.” He did not know what was to bless until Banner spoke up, voice a little muffled.

“Sorry, uh, foreign plants, allergies, probably nothing just...pollen,” there was something off in Banner's voice, but Loki could not identify it.

Another sneeze followed Banner's and this time it was Rogers who spoke up, “Huh...me too...probably nothing in the air-”

“Intergalactic incident aside in case it's some kind of killer Asgard plant spore, maybe I should check with, uh, Eir, was it? Your chief healer?” Banner sounded sheepish and while Loki wanted to get closer, there was no way he wanted the others to see that he was here in the garden.

“...That may be wise,” Thor sounded reluctant as Loki saw flashes of his red cloak through the narrow windows headed back towards the entrance of the veranda, “I am sorry my friends, I did not realize-”

“Eh, don't worry, you can show us the gardens later once we figure out if Bruce or Cap here is allergic to Asgard,” surprisingly Stark sounded nonplussed as he seemingly herded the group out. Just as their footsteps shuffled away and Loki breathed a sigh of relief, he saw Banner approach one of the windows and look directly up at the tree he had been sitting in.

“Sorry about that. Hope you've been feeling better Loki,” Banner clearly could not see him, but nonetheless had known where he was. He heard the mortal leave, the door shutting with a heavy thunk behind him. It was only then that he remembered Banner had said something about his heightened sense of smell, and Loki realized that he had even used it to identify Fenrir who had so far, fooled everyone in the hanger bay days ago.

Loki set the open book on his lap as he blinked, surprised, but at the same time irritated that it _had_ to be Banner and more than likely Rogers who made the excuse to get Thor and the others out of there. He frowned, if Banner was soon to be expecting thanks- He huffed a sigh as Muugin adjusted its perch on his shoulder, cawing softly while preening a feather. He owed nothing to Banner nor to Rogers and certainly could have ignored them all if they had stayed.

The door to the gardens opened and closed again as the heavy boots of the guard that had been sent to fetch him decided to search elsewhere. A few minute passed in silent save for the chirping of birds, crickets, and other fauna that flourished in the gardens, before Loki looked to continue to read his tome. He was about to lift it up when Muugin hopped down from his shoulder and landed directly onto the tome itself. The raven peered up at him and adjusted his wings a little, cawing softly.

Loki only raised an eyebrow at the bird as he knew that the bird knew he wanted to read, but was directly blocking him from doing so. Muugin only stared back at him, the not-quite smirk still gleaming in its eye before reaching down and tugged at the sleeve of his tunic. The sharp beak that could tear through flesh itself barely missed his still-bandaged hand and arm, but Loki understood its point.

Muugin had been sent by the Allfather to remind him to see Eir, but the fact that it _had_ been sent by the Allfather also meant that he was summoned to an audience before seeing to Eir. Clearly, the intelligent raven knew of his dislike and low tolerance for the Avengers and so had waited, but now that there was no one to disturb him, he was to answer those summons. He waved a hand at the bird as it hopped away to avoid being swatted and closed the tome with a heavy thunk. Setting the book on the crook of the branch, he landed lightly on the grassy ground and dusted himself of loose leaves and bits of bark as Muugin flew silently to land on his shoulder once more.

Loki briefly considered making the bird fly behind or ahead of him instead of using his shoulder as its perch, but decided against it. Having the Allfather's raven on his shoulder meant no one would bother him, not even Thor, as it was a sign that the Allfather requested an audience. Plus, as much as he loathed to admit it, he much preferred Muugin to its brother bird Huugin. Huugin squawked and cawed like it was constantly laughing at some cosmic joke, almost like Thor in ways, who would not be silent. Plus Huugin always constantly asked for shelled nuts and seemed to adopt an attitude if none were given. Muugin, at least as far as Loki knew, never asked and even when offered seemed to take a while to consider those nuts.

He headed back into the main halls of the palace, walking with assured steps, noting how the guards straightened at his presence while the courtiers pointed and whispered amongst themselves. He had no doubts as to what they were talking about, but the fact that he heard Thor's name followed by mortals that were conveyed in a somewhat scandalous tone brought a slight smile to his lips. The courtiers already knew of what transpired on Midgard regarding the coterie, but the fact that they were more concerned about Thor and his Avengers being here...

He stopped in front of the doors that led in and saw one of the guards bow his head before opening it for him. He stepped in as they closed it, signaling that it was a private audience with the Allfather and Allmother, and saw the same guard that had been looking for him kneeling. The guard was seemingly in mid-apology for not finding him before looking up and back at him.

“Ah...I- milord-”

“It is of no dire consequence, Eskil, for finding one of my wayward sons,” the Allfather said, bringing the hapless guard's gaze around, but Loki had the distinct feeling that Odin was addressing him at the same time, “after all, they have had many years to ennoble themselves _not_ to be found amongst the palace grounds if they do not want to be.”

“Ah, yes sire, thank you sire,” the guard apologized with a bow of his head before getting up and hurrying out through one of the side doors.

Loki let the smile curl around the edge of his lips as he approached the Allfather – it seemed the guard had been looking for him for a long time. When it had been established by the Allfather that he could not be found in a certain time period, he had sent Muugin out to summon him back. The Allfather held out a hand and Muugin immediately flew from his shoulder to land in the Allfather's hand. Loki stopped at the edges of the throne as he watched the raven converse with the Allfather – Huugin nowhere in sight.

The sight of Frigga was surprising as he thought her still occupied with the domestic court's business. But she only smiled kindly at him as she stood at her place on the Allfather's right hand side.

He saw Eir, standing near the dais, her lips pinched with irritation as she too stared at the Allfather before he glanced at her and nodded. The fact that she was here instead of in the Healing Halls was significant. Eir approached him and Loki blinked, wondering why the Allfather wanted the chief healer here to examine his core. It was not an invasion of privacy, he frankly did not care, but rather, he was puzzled as to why when he could have easily met her in the Healing Halls. Eir looked annoyed, but Loki somehow knew it was not directed at him. The chief healer almost never looked annoyed and the times that she did, she never showed it. It had to mean that she was annoyed at the Allfather, but for what he did not know.

She held her hand up to his chest and he waited patiently as she cast her spell. It was invasive, but Eir always had a touch that managed to make not so, such was her gift and skill in healing magicks. She could have been a spectacular poisoner, Loki reflected as he barely felt her touch search deeper into his core. Every mage had a 'core' so to speak, one of which was their very own, similar in ways to what the mortals described as souls. It was what made the mage a mage, akin to what made Thor a warrior at heart. To draw and take in someone else's core and convert it to their own, it was anathema and blood magick that was the most dangerous.

Every mage, _every_ single one learned about blood magick; learned the extreme dangers, perhaps experienced them, always to their own detriment. Healers were well aware of it, hence the poisoner part of their description. It was healers who specialized in unraveling the threads of magicks that were foreign to the core, of both warriors and fellow mages, enabling them to either harm or heal the person. In ways, perhaps the most powerful of all magicks, but there was only one weakness to healers.

They needed to touch their intended targets to hurt them the most. Which was why Healers spent time making poisons and learned other spells for defensive and offensive purposes. To use their singular gift of touching people's cores, it was not worth the effort for the most part; especially since emotions tended to be so fickle.

He felt Eir's touch slowly withdraw before she lifted her hand away and let it rest at her side. She looked at him, her lined face about as old as the Allfather's, but still showing bits of her once-youthful beauty. “Foolish boy,” she whispered, her voice only for him and he smiled condescendingly at her. He knew that she was furious at what he had done to himself – after all, she was the one to heal his scrapes growing up; akin to a second mother like Frigga was to him. Once, those words would have elicited guilt, but now, Loki felt nothing. Eir, like the others, did not understand, nor did he have the inclination to help her understand. He owed her nothing.

“A fool would never have survived,” he replied before she turned and bowed her head at the Allfather.

“There are no traces, Allfather,” Eir said before shuffling to the side. However, she did not leave as Loki had expected her to and instead, stood with her hands clasped in front of her.

Odin only inclined his head once before pinning Loki with a penetrating look, “Do you wish to speak?”

“What is there to speak of?” Loki asked, keeping his voice light and masked the confusion in it. He truly had no idea what Odin was expecting from him – was to ask why he had nearly destroyed his own core, why had the coterie escaped now, was he to plead for their guilt – all of it and any of it, he was wondering why the Allfather had asked him such a question. It hit him a second later that the Allfather wanted to _know_ all of the questions, answers, counter-answers, everything that had flitted through his mind. The Allfather was giving him the _chance_ to speak, not as from father to son – no _that_ particular familial tie had long disappeared after he had nearly destroyed Jotunheim. But rather, was giving him the chance to speak, much like the private sentencing hundreds of years previous.

The Allfather had made his decision then.

“There are no words to be spoken of or for,” he drew himself up and stared at the Allfather. If he was to be condemned along with Hel and Jormungandr, he was ready. Odin had not given any indication that he had believed nor denied his association with the coterie's recent actions; not even in the single audience since his return from Midgard.

“Very well,” Odin replied after staring at him for a long moment and thumped Gungir on the ground, making Muugin squawk as the doors opened to the throne room and courtiers started to spill in.

For a second, Loki considered advancing up the steps to stand by the Allfather's left hand side as was his custom, but stopped himself as something within him told him that he would be better off standing on the side, next to the dais, but away from the edges of the Court itself. His presence would be acknowledged, but it would be a clear sign to everyone that he was, like the rest of the Court, an observer to whatever was to happen.

Moments later, he heard Huugin's familiar cackle as he flew in, leading Thor and his Avengers as the Court parted, whispers and murmurs flowing and ebbing like the tide. The group also included Director Fury, Agent Coulson, a flame-haired woman he vaguely remembered coming off the same quinjet as Tony Stark, and Jane Foster. Why Foster was here was beyond Loki, but he suspected that Thor more than likely decided to bring her even though she provided no significant contribution to the group. Foster and the flame-haired woman were already dressed in the fine clothing Asgard had to offer while Romanoff, to his amusement, had staunchly refused, preferring to stay in her skin-tight armor, her weapons openly displayed.

He saw more than one look flick at him - or in the case of Agent Barton, an open stare of still-seething hatred – but ignored all of that as the doors parted again and the sounds of chains all but silenced the Court. They parted rather quickly, giving ample space for the Warriors Three and Lady Sif escorting Hel and Jormungandr to walk them to the front. It was as if they were any closer, they would be considered associated with the two of them. The mortals drew to the side, but did not back away as far as the rest of the Court.

Loki noted with some interest that Hel's once pale-rose-colored curls had somewhat faded. Half of her started to look like it was decaying, the other half still alive. He had known what her true form was, but surmised that since she had not been to her realm in days; she was more than likely suffering the effects of being without her unique magicks at her disposal. She would not die, no, but the carefully crafted illusion he knew she maintained by supping the souls of the deceased in her realm, was fading. Jormungandr looked as he had when he had last left him, sullen, head bowed, presenting the image of misery. Neither took notice of him standing directly to their right, but he knew that they were sharply aware of his presence.

“Lady Hel, Healer Jormungandr, both of you have been found guilty of high treason against Asgard and its royal family. The method of punishment would have been a swift execution and a petition for a new ruler of Helheim. However, in light of a new treatise currently being drafted with Midgard, there will be a stay of execution,” the Allfather intoned in, his voice seemingly a whisper, but nonetheless carried a heavy authority over everyone's ears.

“You may thank the Midgardian delegation for intervening on your behalf and lay claim to right of justice,” Odin continued, “I have agreed for the first steps of this treatise, to lay down the punishment of imprisonment for life for you, Jormungandr; to be sent back to the depths of Midgard from whence you came. For you, Lady Hel, you will continue your duties as shepherd of the dead, no longer concealing your form from Heimdall. You will also recompense the mortals killed by your hand with a moment of peace for their loved ones.”

The Court immediately burst into whispers and hushed murmurs as the Allfather seemingly finished with his sentencing. Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Director Fury, Stark's woman, and Agent Coulson nodding. The rest of the Avengers looked a little confused and even Romanoff shrugged, but seemed to accept the punishment. However, Thor, Sif, Faendral, Hogun, and Volstagg were all looking equally puzzled. Loki too was a little puzzled as to why such a light punishment was given when Odin tapped Gungir once, silencing the whispers.

“Jormungandr, for the crime of assassination against my son,” Loki saw Thor tense, his hand unconsciously curling into a fist even though Mjolnir hung by his side, “and the temptation of my other son-”

Loki resolutely ignored all of the eyes that seemingly shot to him, including Thor's before they turned back to stare at his young half-bowed, half-defiant form.

“-you will be flayed of your magick-”

Loki stood very still, as some in the Court gasped. He wondered if the Court even knew what kind of punishment it was, to flay someone of their magick. Even Frigga had stared at Odin before rapidly composing herself, but Loki knew that she understood. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif had stiffened, the chains in their hands rattling a little while the Midgardians all looked confused and concerned. He could see the comprehension sweeping across their faces as they realized that this was _Asgard's_ punishment for Jormungandr and Hel, _in addition_ to the request they had made. Jormungandr, flayed of his magick...Loki could not believe it and it seemed neither the Court. But the Court did not know of the _punishment_ it was...

“-before you are to live the remainder of your life as nothing but a common serpent on Midgard. That is your life imprisonment.”

Flayed of magick...it was a death sentence without actually dying. It meant ripping the whole source from a person, and magick was at the very core of their being. For someone like Jormungandr...Loki knew that there was perhaps a time he would have shuddered, but now...he held himself absolutely still. He could not give anything away...and finally understood why Eir had been summoned.

The chief healer's face could have looked like it was carved from stone as she had drawn something out from the folds of her robe and held it clasped gently in her hands. Flayed of his magick...

“ _Imprisoned and_ stripped _, Loki,_ stripped _of your magicks,” she hissed quietly, “the pain of having your source flayed alive from your very skin. That should be your punishment and recompense for what you did to the Jotuns, to Thor, to everyone you have wronged in the hundreds of years.”_

“ _Banished?” he narrowed his eyes a little and she jutted her chin at him, staring down at him._

“ _Not enough,” she replied, “banishment would only serve to ferment your anger and your fantasies of revenge. Banishment and forced into another form is too kind of a punishment for you.”_

Loki caught Sif looking rather pale and wondered if she was remembering the conversation they had about a year ago, when she along with the others had been bidden to watch him – to guard him from Thanos' subtle magick and possession in the waking dream. She was the only one to whom he had spilled some of the secrets of the coterie's punishment; that they had been banished and forced into another form. Her words spoken a year ago only served as a reminder that she had wished there had been a harsher punishment, especially for what _he_ had done to Thor, the Jotuns, and to Midgard. It was a little amusing to see her realize the truth of her own words.

But the amusement only lasted a mere second as Loki also knew why the Allfather had decided to enact the sentence now. Eir must have let the Allfather know of the shredded parts of Jormungandr's source within himself. If Jor's source existed within him now, the flaying would have severely affected him as well, akin to what Fenrir had done in the hanger bay of the Helicarrier.

“Lady Hel,” the Allfather addressed the Queen of Helheim, “you will serve a time of one-hundred-ninety-three days in the prisons. One for each soul you and Jormungandr have taken before returning to your realm.”

The Court erupted into murmurs once more, but Loki knew that this was the strictest punishment the Allfather could give short of executing Hel. They were all witness to her half-decayed form, and nearly two-hundred more days in prison meant that she would be drained of more of her powers. When she returned to Helheim in the aftermath there would be chaos in her realm. She would not be killed, Loki knew for certain because who her mother was, but she would have a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with as the various demons, lords, and other creatures that she ruled over would have tried to take her place as ruler of Helheim in the interim.

The potential for chaos like that to spill into the other realms was minimal as the creatures would have had to travel through the shadows and void like Hel did. The Midgardian conditions prevented such a thing from happening since she had to keep herself visible to Heimdall at all times and that meant no traveling into the void and spaces in between Yggdrasil.

Odin tapped Gungir, silencing the Court again as Eir approached Jormungandr who raised his head to stare at her. Gone was the misery, and sadness; his ice-blue eyes were chipped with fury, indignation, but most of all of fear. However, his body posture spoke of defiance and Loki could see so much of Fenrir within Jor as he tried to stop the small tremors of fear that shook him.

“Hey, wait-”

It was Thor who held up his hand to stop both Director Fury and Tony Stark from stepping forward and interfering. But even he too looked disturbed and disgusted as Eir raised the object in her hand to Jormungandr's chest. Only once had Loki seen a Source Extractor, and that was when he had been curious as to some of the tools Fenrir used to kill his targets as a wetworker. Part of him scoffed that Thor was finally beginning to understand some of what was happening, of the politics that guided the Court of Asgard, and of how magick was perceived – but it was too late... Far too late, too meaningless, too little-

He thought he felt the prick of when Eir's magick enveloped the Extractor and the device began to do its work. He thought he felt something leeching onto him from within, drawing from the deepest part of him, clinging like tendrils that he could not fight off. It was only the first sign of an uncomfortable worming-feeling, unlike how Thanos had pulled and tugged at the geas that was their contract, that seemed to spread from within, that he realized something was wrong. He knew he should not have been feeling a numbing sensation, one that pulled from his chest to his arms, neck, legs; a tingling sensation that was interrupted by sparks of shooting pain. It was like someone had jolted him with electricity, mild enough that he did not outright feel it, but nonetheless felt utterly uncomfortable.

At the same time Jormungandr was clearly shaking like a leaf as the Extractor glowed fiercely, the curl and tendrils of magick leeching from him to the object. His face was a mask of agony, of unfathomable pain as he tried not to scream. Loki briefly wondered if he was feeling a sympathetic-pain of sorts since he had taken some of Jor's source within him to rid himself of the poison. But as quickly as that thought had occurred to him, he dismissed it. Eir had cleared him and she would never have done that to go against her oath as a Healer. Odin had even held off the punishment for Jormungandr because of him, he knew that now, judging by the impassive look the Allfather wore on his face.

So then what was happening?

He resisted the urge to roll his shoulders or make any movement as the discomfort grew, the light sparks of pain seemingly turning his fingers cold, his feet and toes cold. His shoulder blades hurt where they met his spinal column and the shooting pain was spreading. He inwardly checked his own magicks as Jormungandr started to breathe heavily, his harsh gasps a clear sign that he was trying very hard to hold back the screams that wanted to pour forth.

He could see the Court staring at rapt attention, some of them wanting to look away, but could not. He was not surprised to see the more soldier-like of the Avengers looking like they could have been carved out of stone, their frowns expressing their displeasure at what was happening. The more civilian part of the Midgardian delegation all looked like they were about to throw up – and to his slight dismay, he could see Dr. Banner turning away, his skin a little greener than usual.

Loki wanted to laugh at the naivety of both the Midgardians and of Thor as he clearly had not realized the lengths the Allfather would go to punish the perpetrators of crimes against the House of Odin. Then again, Thor had been oblivious to the many assassination attempts over the years, at least in his opinion. Most of the time, the assassins were caught and summarily executed. Jormungandr would have been after his first attempt hundreds of years ago, except for Loki's intervention and bargain with the Allfather then.

Now, he knew that the public punishment of Jormungandr was not only for Midgard's benefit, but mostly a message from the Allfather to himself – that it could have easily been him in Jormungandr's position since he did try to kill Thor with the Destroyer before attempting genocide of the Jotuns and subjugation of the Midgardians. The fact that he had went unpunished as the Court and Midgardians had thought was only by the grace of the Allfather. Loki refused to think that his geas with Thanos had influenced the Allfather's decision.

He finished his quick scan of his own source as he could feel the pain spiking now and involuntarily clenched a fist in order to stop it. It did nothing, but at least provided a distraction of sorts as he wondered why he was feeling this sympathetic-pain from Jormungandr. He received his answer a second later as Jormungandr finally screamed, long, loud, and heartrendingly agonizing. Many in the Court flinched, and even Frigga had twitched from where she stood, but Eir kept doing her work, fully immersed in the magicks she used upon the Extractor.

But Loki was not exactly paying attention as he realized where the source of the pain was coming from. He _did_ have a part of Jormungandr's source within him that had not been converted. It was a very, very tiny part, almost the size of the drop of blood, and it was on the tessellation he had used to create a perfect almost-double illusion of himself while he had been fighting against Fenrir. It had not been cleansed since he had returned, had not even been considered – until now.

He concentrated on keeping his breaths steady, to not show the uncomfortable pain he was feeling, and felt sweat beading and running down the back of his neck. It felt like hours until Jormungandr finally stopped screaming and slumped to the ground, his chains rattling loudly in wake of the deathly silence that filled the Court. Eir's Soul Extractor glowed, seemingly engulfing her hands in a sickening holy light, as she stepped back, her face pale, ashen, but still carved from stone.

“It is done, Allfather,” Eir said, turning slightly to Odin and bowing a little before exiting through a side door. What would happen to Jormungandr's source, Loki did not know, but he had a feeling that the ancient magicks and technology that made Asgard what it was, was perhaps fueled by what she held in her hands now.

No one made a single sound as the Allfather rose from his throne and walked the steps down to where Jormungandr had crumpled to the floor. The young shapeshifter's breaths were harsh, wheezing gasps, the sound of a dying animal. Hel had not moved from where she was, but Loki saw that if it was possible, she looked almost sympathetic as she stared down at Jormungandr. He knew that she would not make any moves to help him, that was not her nature nor would she show sympathy by association by helping Jormungandr.

Odin stopped before the former mage and for a second Loki thought he saw a sorrowful expression in his eyes, a regret of sorts, but dismissed it as he leveled Gungir's point.

“Father, at least let him a moment's peace before-”

All eyes turned to Thor as he stepped forward, his expression pinched, but he had stopped talking at the icy _glare_ Odin had leveled against him. Loki wanted to punch Thor for what he had just said as the Court whispered quietly amongst themselves. Thor, showing sympathy for an assassin that had clearly tried to kill him? How could that be? The fact that his brother was an _idiot_ of the highest level for actually interrupting the Allfather and pleading for mercy- Loki shook his head inwardly; it had taken Thor _this long_ to realize how much the Allfather would punish those who attacked the House of Odin. He had no doubts that it was more than likely the Midgardians, the Avengers, who had influenced him to interrupt what was happening. Idiots the lot of them.

Seeing that his son was sufficiently cowed, Odin turned back to Jormungandr and a second later, the harsh crackling sound of bones being compressed echoed in the Court. The whispers were silenced once more as all watched with horror, fascination, and a sense of righteousness as Jormungandr was forced into a smaller version of his snake-like form. The clothes he had worn had merged with his serpentine form, giving him an unusual coloring and pattern, but nonetheless, was not too significant.

“Ambassador Director Fury,” Odin moved the point of Gungir away and Muugin resumed his perch on top of its point, having hopped down to the Allfather's shoulder in the interim.

“As you wish, Allfather,” Fury's voice was calm and collected, but Loki could clearly sense his namesake behind the placid gaze the Director wore as he stepped forward and collected the docile Jormungandr into his hands. The fact that the Director found this punishment unjust, even for what had happened to his own people and how many lives were lost, surprised Loki.

Jormungandr only hissed weakly, still stunned and clearly hurting from having his source ripped out, and did not even try to make an attempt to bite Fury as he curled in on himself.

“Sir,” Fury suddenly called out as the Allfather had turned to advance back up to his throne, “I was told that when treaties were negotiated with Asgard, there is usually gifts exchange. We appreciate this gift-”

Loki could hear the sarcasm and saw that the Allfather did too with a slight narrowing of his gaze.

“-so want to give a gift of our own.”

“Oh?” clearly Odin was not in a gaming mood as he stood halfway on the stairs up to the throne.

“I know it's not customary in the middle of negotiations, but it's the least we can do for all of your generosity,” Fury finished before Loki saw him turn to him and walk a few steps over to where he had been standing. The Director of SHIELD gave him a placid smile, “For you.”

Loki managed to open his hand in time to receive Jormungandr's serpentine form, his surprise and shock at how _bold_ , and _underhanded_ the Director was in wake of what had just happened. However, a quick look at Fury's eyes showed him that the Director was well aware of what kind of game and politics he was playing at the moment and the corner of his lips turned up in a crooked smile. He had underestimated Director Fury if he was willing to play the game of politics against the Allfather.

“A gift is rather generous, Director.”

“Well, call it an insurance against the geas contract we made. Jormungandr in human form and now snake form,” Fury replied before stepping back and bowing slightly to Odin who acknowledged it with the barest curt nod of his head before sitting back on the throne.

He thumped the butt of Gungir down on the ground once more, signaling the end of the Court as Hel was led out and back to the dungeons, the courtiers following behind. Some had their heads together, talking and whispering to one another while others hurried with some significant pace – no doubt to spread news of what had happened. A few sneered at the Avengers and the rest of the Midgardian delegation and very few only seemed to acknowledge the significance of what Director Fury had done.

He could see Thor standing next to his friends with his head held up high, proud of what his friends had done, almost defiant, but the image was shattered with the grimacing look he wore. As the Court thinned, Loki saw Thor dropping his look to search for him across the throne and he abruptly turned and stalked away, cloaking himself in the shadows, Jormungandr curled into his hand.

It was admirable for what Fury had done, but it did not matter in the long run. Loki knew that everything that had happened was a message and a warning for him – that he had been spared of what should have been his punishment by the grace of the Allfather – and just that, the grace, not the love.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

This is probably one of my favorite chapters (besides the previous one) in the two stories I've written so far only because it showcases what it truly means to be the Allfather – to not suffer any fools or foolish dealings. I think there's about one or two more chapters after this one before we're done. Also, I am going to write the backstory to the coterie, but it will not be published any time soon – _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ kind of made me want to go play around with Bucky's head and Steve's angst for a bit. That story has been posted and it's part of the _Trickster Universe_ , but completely Avengers focused.

I have a cutely twisted head canon when it comes to snake!Jormungandr that I may publish as misc notes on AO3 instead of fanfiction dot net.


	15. Chapter 15

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 15_

 

“What the hell was that?!” Thor steeled himself not to wince at the harsh tone Tony Stark had adopted as soon as his friends had returned to the suite of rooms given to them for their stay. “I've had worst board meetings than having some pompous passive-aggressive bullshit – sorry Thor, your dad's an ass,” Stark whirled and faced him before turning back around and started to pace around the room.

The rest of the Avengers filled into the room, all of them with quiet, stony looks on their faces. Thor opened his mouth before closing it as he saw Jane retreat into her room, the door closing loudly in wake of the silence that had fallen in the suite. The Lady Pepper Potts, to whom Thor knew was seeing Stark as well as running his company, only shook her head – at him or at Stark's pacing – before she too retreated to the room she shared with Stark. Lady Agent Romanoff was the only female left, as she stood near the entrance, her arms folded across her chest. He could not read her expression, but could inherently feel the disapproval radiating from her.

“You knew this was going to happen right? And don't give me that whole spiel about how we _couldn't possibly_ understand what we had just witnessed – _Thor_ we came up here for you! For us! To _negotiate_ a treaty that clearly your Dad has no inclination of really following because, _really_?! Really?! That was just fucking torture!” Stark whirled around again and glared at him. His glare suddenly slid to the side as he held up a hand, “Steve, don't interrupt and don't you start Bruce.”

“Stark-”

“No. No, if you say you're on his side, then-”

“Tony, we get it, just...” Banner cut him before either Rogers or Stark could get another word in, “Thor, you've been at the negotiations, you knew about this?”

It was taking all of his practiced calm, calm learned from years and years of having to deal with Loki, to not yell at Stark or to hit him with Mjolnir. It was not that he knew what was to happen, it was that they did not understand. He understood what Banner was trying to do, to give him a chance to explain, but at the same time started to realize that even if he did explain, his mortal friends would not understand – that it had to be done – that this  _was_ the lightest, yet harshest punishment that could be done in light of the charges brought against them. When Phase 2 weapons had been revealed because he had been the cause, he had told them that it was a signal that Midgard was ready for a higher form of war. That they were ready to take their rightful place amongst the nine realms and join in the politics that ruled it. Even though they had no centralized rulers, they had the strength and righteousness that would make them valuable allies to Asgard.

At least that was what he had thought and hoped for.

Now, Stark was slowly tearing that assumption apart and Thor loathed to admit that perhaps he had been a little hasty in his enthusiasm to have his friends join the Court and its politics. Loki was a far better judge than he and Thor wished he had sought his opinion before agreeing to Fury's request to bring the decision of Midgard's punishment to the Allfather during the initial negotiations.

“Don't say you regret bringing us up here,” Fury spoke up quietly, staring at him with his lone eye and Thor shook his head.

“I do not,” whatever Loki might have believed, he still could see the strength of his friends, even though their priorities were a bit skewed. “I...must thank you though, for making me realize the...barbarism-”

Stark snorted loudly.

“-of punishment that we had been inflicting upon those who would harm the realms. I...do not yet understand why you would allow many criminals to languish in the prisons, even though we too have our own, instead of executing them based on the severity of the crime, but...” He shook his head, grimacing, “Father's methods are...designed for a purpose. That was what I learned growing up, that everything he does has a purpose.”

“I think we got the message,” surprisingly it was Barton who had spoken up as he stood near Romanoff and the son of Coul, “he doesn't think we're ready. That Earth, Midgard, whatever, that we are not ready for the galactic politics and you know what, he's right.”

“Hey-”

“But-”

“I sure as hell want _nothing_ to do with someone who decides to let a mass murdered go free just because he's related to the one handing out the sentencing,” Barton growled, his face darkening, “or someone who decides that the best way to deal with it is to rip their soul out and leave them a shell of who they were.” Thor met the archer's dark stare, “Yeah, I'm talking about Loki and Jormungandr,” His voice was rough with dragged out pain, but he kept himself tightly wounded, arms crossed, daring him to defy what he had said.

Thor knew that his friends would never see what he saw in Loki; what he had promised silently to do – to make sure that he would be there for him – would never understand the familial bond that held them together, that he was not willing to give up on him, that he had broken too many promises. But at the same time, he also knew that Barton would never forgive Loki for what he had done and what he had suffered while under the influence of the Chitauri sceptre.

“That's not for you to decide, Agent,” Fury instead, reprimanded him with a look, as Barton shrugged and looked elsewhere. A gentle knock on the door that led into the suite made everyone stare at it before Agent Coulson opened it to see a young page standing at the threshold with a polite look on his face.

“Ambassadors, the Allfather bids me to remind you that there will be a feast tonight in honor of the mid-negotiations and of the sentencing of the traitors Jormungandr and Lady Hel,” the page chirped and Thor saw the others blanch a little. Stark and even Rogers' mouth had dropped open as the faint “...What...?'”emerged from them.

He grimaced again as he realized that they were not used to the feasting after a battle or what was considered successful negotiations and were still trying to process how could a feast happen in light of what they had witnessed. There were surely going to be questions asked about how they had defeated Jormungandr, Fenrir, and Hel spoken at the feast – and he knew that they would be expected to relay a grandiose tale so that everyone at the feast would be able to add this to the exploits of the mortal Avengers from Midgard. It would increase their standings amongst the Court, but it would also prove that they were warriors and could hold their own – that they were ready for a higher form of war.

“Sir?” the page still looked expectant at Coulson's blank look before he smiled blandly back down.

“Of course, we will be there,” Coulson said before shutting the door once more and turned back around. Thor recognized the look as one of calm control, that even the normally placid, unfazed agent was seething underneath at such a request. There was perhaps a time, not long ago, that Thor would have been confused as to why his friends would not have wanted to feast in wake of what happened today, but now, he understood. He understood and he could feel something _ugly_ worm its way into his stomach, souring it. This was the politics that Loki loved to play, loved to manipulate and it felt _disgusting_.

“I...I-”

Suddenly the suite felt too suffocating, too foreign and too alien to Thor as he shook his head and brushed past Stark who had stopped pacing. “I am sorry, my friends. I....I will see you at the feast later,” he mumbled as he opened the door and stepped out, closing it before anyone else could say a word.

Outside, he leaned against the nearby wall and breathed deeply. Loki had been right, he was a blind fool. He shook his head again as he pushed himself off of the wall and started to walk, no destination in mind – just anything to rid his mind of what had happened.

* * *

Loki felt oddly numb as he uncloaked himself from the shadows, stepping into his chambers. Jormungandr was still nestled in his hand, limp and almost unmoving save for the minutest of breath that passed through his snake form. He unceremoniously dumped the snake onto an empty spot on one of his workstations as he stopped by it. The small serpent gave a weak-sounding hiss before it curled back up, still obviously in pain and apparently exhausted. If anything, Jormungandr had shrunk a little in size since he had been forced into his serpentine form forever by Odin, but Loki did not care. No magicks had been involved in that, only Jor's natural shapeshifting abilities.

He let loose a deep breath as he stared at nothing in particular, wondering why he felt so numb and empty. Shaking his head, he ignored it and reached into the spaces in between and pulled out the tessellation that he had used to create an illusion of himself while he had fought Fenrir. Setting it on the workstation, he stared at it for a second, the memory coming unbidden to his mind.

“ _It is a wonder what you see in that fool, Loki,” this close to Fenrir, he could feel his breath tickling the nape of his neck and into his ear, “what would bind him to you as a brother, the familial love that would drive you to betray us, betray me.”_

 

Loki blinked as he heard a wheezing sound before realizing that it was  _ he _ who was making that sound. He also realized that he had been clenching his jaw so tight that it was hurting; his hands curled into fists-

 

_But this kiss...no, this searing fiery passionate kiss that he almost-leaned into, but just restrained himself so, this belonged to someone else. He could feel her within it, reflecting off of his own warming spell, seemingly burning his own lips up, the corners of his mouth, edges of skin about to crackle-_

 

_Sigyn was curled into him, in the afterglow of their lovemaking as he stared not quite past her sleeping form and into the darkness of the camp that they had set up. The warm summer-like breeze flowing from the valleys of Vanaheim dried the sweat from their skins. She had asked if he was happy and he had replied with a slight indifference that had made her laugh – sweet laughter that he loved. Truth be told, he had not been happy until now...until he knew._

 

It was as if a pressure that could not be contained suddenly burst and Loki lashed out with his hands, sending waves of destructive magick across his room, shattering books, tables, items.

 

“ _You and I,” Fenrir continued, “we could have ruled and no one would have opposed us. I would have protected you with my body and my soul, my life if you deemed it. We could have been as great as the magisters of old.”_

 

_It was the unexpected kisses that made Loki smile; always anticipating, always watching, waiting – Fenrir was clever when he wanted to be, to steal the kisses of the Asgardian Prince. He was also surprisingly gentle, though sometimes rough when the two of them were together._

 

A whirlwind blew around as he glared at the tomes and experiments scattered across his room, blasting them to pieces with bolts of destruction. He glared at nothing in particular and destroyed one of the chairs that he had accidentally kicked over. An angry yell emerged from his mouth as he gritted his teeth and hurled a fireball at his bed, sending feathers and burnt cloth into the air.

 

_There was something broken in Jormungandr's expression, sullen, painful, a youthfulness that suddenly seized upon him as he stepped forward of his own accord. The Allfather's gaze rested upon him and he bit his lip – how could they?! They... He shook his head, tears, angry tears, painful tears, tears of the hurt of betrayal, pricking the corners of his eyes. “Please...” he was horrified at how weak he sounded, how rough and crackled his voice sounded in the audience of two in the throne room. “Please...spare them, Allfather.”_

 

Spare them? How could he have done such a thing?! He had been such a fool, an idiot, by sparing them, was _still_ a fool now. Loki glared at the light fixtures and blasted them apart, scattering glass and sending them to the floor. He swiped his arm down angrily and ripped a mural in half, tearing it apart like it was nothing-

He reached over and grabbed several of the cups and plates that had been left for him ages ago and hurled them at the doors, at the walls, watching with some vindictive pleasure as they shattered, spoiled food dripping down the walls. He could see the blood that painted those walls in the throne room-

 

_Angrboda's neck shattered like a twig_ .

 

He spotted a set of knives on a bookshelf and threw them hard, not caring that his aim was off and more than half clattered to the floor when he knew he had to skill to make it accurate.

 

_Vali, stabbed twice in the heart, guts sliced open – his intestines spilled to the ground before he sliced his throat open and backstabbed him in the heart one last time for good measure. He stalked his way past the fallen mage's body, intent on hunting Narfi, the other brother_ .

 

_The blood dripped a midnight red, painting the canvas of golden walls, columns, and floors like the flicking of a paint brush._

 

“...Loki...”

Loki whirled at the whisper of his name to see Thor, of all people, standing by the door to his chambers, his eyes wide as he took in the sheer destruction that had happened. It was also then that he realized he was heaving, almost gasping, his rage consuming him. His hands glowed, a reddish-black destructive magick that he had been wrecking havoc with for...was it a few minutes? Had it been hours? His eyes darted around as he took in the whirlwind of destruction that had been his chambers.

“Get out,” he snarled, curling his hands into fists as he held them threateningly at his side. He was not in the mood for any type of conversation with Thor, no matter how he had gotten past the wards to his chambers.

“I...heard noises...”

“I do not _care_ for what you heard you fool-born halfwit,” he glared at Thor, watching as his expression closed up. Good, that would teach the idiot to _not_ barge in-

He saw something seemingly break in Thor's expression before he took another step forward and Loki thought he was about to  _mollycoddle_ him until his brother spoke, voice low, almost a growl, “I have had it to  _here_ with you, Loki. Do not test my patience, not when you have no right-”

“Pardon?!” Loki interrupted, not believe what Thor was saying, “no right?! No-no right?! I have _every right in the realms_ -”

“You gave that right up when you brought this upon yourself! When you brought _them_ to the realms and you made them-”

“They were my friends! They were my family!”

“You have a family here!” Thor roared, but Loki would not back down as he snarled a denial to his words.

“I have no family! I am a Frost Giant! I am a _monster_!” he jabbed himself in the chest, feeling the age old pain rise up, the bile that threatened to overwhelm him as he fought back.

“We are _not_ having this conversation again-”

“Then leave!”

“No!” Thor shouted back, unwilling to back down and Loki gritted his teeth.

“I am asking you politely-”

“You have never asked politely-” Thor snorted as something ugly appeared in his expression, something that looked like it had been bottled up for a long time, finally let loose, “go ahead then, fire one of those spells that you most likely killed _your_ coterie with then! Kill me and leave my body here for the guards and for the Allfather to find like you had planned!”

“That was _not_ my plan!” Loki only realized a second later that Thor knew and most importantly, he had _heard_ what had been spoken between Fenrir and he in the hanger bay before he snapped his neck and killed him. “Do not place the blame upon me for what idiocy you had fallen into all those years ago. You _put_ me in that position.”

“I did not-”

“Yes you did,” Loki shot back, feeling the anger and fury at what happened, what had happened previous flooding him. He seized it and held on for dear life, “You could have accepted them-”

“You know _damn well_ who put you in that position,” Thor cut him off roughly with a swipe of his hand, “you brought them in when clearly they were dangerous-”

“They were _not_ dangerous when you gave them a chance-”

“ _Fenrir_ nearly killed you! He was a known assassin, wetworker, and clearly deranged enough to give you the throne-”

“ _I am a king!_ ”

“The King of Lies!” Thor shot back and Loki huffed in annoyance.

“I should have let him kill you back then. Then you would not have been such a thorn-”

“What stopped you? Certainly not _sentiment_ ,” Thor shook his head, his expression pinched, tone sarcastic, “no, because Loki Odinson is not with sentiment. He does not care for anyone except himself. He claims to have loved those who would have given him everything and throws them away. He decides to take things cherished by others in recompense for slights that are only that, mere slights. He uses and throws away everything that would cherish him – because they are of no use to him. He cannot claim to love and save because he does not understand.”

There was something bitter in Thor's expression and Loki wanted to find a vicious pleasure in it, but all he felt was the hollow numbness filling him once more. He forced himself to smile frostily, “Very well said,  _Thor_ .”

If he expected Thor to agree, it surprised him when his brother's expression twisted into a shattering angry look, “You, are a fool. It is you who is the fool-born halfwit for trying to believe and mold yourself into what was said.”

“Excuse me?”

“You and your silver tongue, you could have stopped it, stopped....this,” he gestured roughly to the room, “could have stopped what had happened...”

“Sympathy for Jormungandr?! For the one who could have killed you?! Who is more the fool?”

“ _He was a child!_ They were your friends! They were-”

“ _I_ was the one who planned it! I was the one who told them to poison you to get rid of you quicky before they killed the Allfather. I wanted the throne! It is _mine_!” he laughed, a shrill sound that sounded so broken in his ears, “is that what you came here to hear?! Is that what you wanted me to say?!”

“We both know that is not the truth-”

“The _truth_ is subjective! The truth is what we want it to be! For all you know, I could have, still am, playing all of you for your sympathies! That I had planned all of this just so I can get rid of those in the failed attempt at the Nornforsaken throne!”

“No,” Thor shook his head head rapidly, the anger still in his voice and expression, “I refuse to believe-” He crossed his arms across his chest, the ugly expression twisting further, “Then what was all of it for?!”

“All of it for? To be the rightful ruler of Asgard you dolt! The Chitauri, the sceptre, the attempted destruction of Jotunheim! You think I did not _know_ what I was doing?!” Loki knew it was wrong, but he could not stop the words from pouring out of his mouth; could not stop the hurt, the pain, the agony of what had happened – the raw nerves that had been made even more raw with Jormungandr's punishment. The frayed edges that had him teetering on the brink of madness-

“Then it should have been _you_ who faced his punishment! It should have been you!” as soon as the words left Thor's mouth, he immediately step back, eyes wide, unable to believe what he had just said. It was only then that he realized Thor was also suffering the same hurt and pain, thought different than his own – still similar enough that he recognized it.

But the damage had been done.

Loki could only stare at his brother, shock coursing through him, driving away the fury and anger in one blow as he barked out a disbelieving laugh. His magick disappeared from his hands as he said in a hollow tone, “So that is the truth, is it not?”

“Loki-”

Something inside of him shattered into tiny pieces as he grimaced and shook his head, “Too late to speak the words wish to hold true. Too late for empty truths and broken promises. The Allfather certainly showed that.”

The quiet hiss from one of the half-destroyed tables in his room made the two of them fall silent. They looked back to see Jormungandr, sitting on top of the tessellation that had remained intact throughout the whole thing. The snake's eyes were opened and some of the pain had faded from its body language. Loki realized that Jormungandr was still able to sense the tiny drop of blood that contained whatever was left of his core and sought the tessellation as a refuge from the pain he had to have been feeling.

“...Your...tessellation...” Thor's tone had changed, and Loki knew that he was beginning to get an inkling of what had happened.

“Blood magick,” he murmured almost carelessly, feeling emotionally exhausted as he turned and walked towards where Jormungandr was. The snake raised his head to look at him, tongue tasting the air, seemingly unafraid. That was the Jormungandr he remembered – fearless and brave.

“Blood...you...the snake's core...”

Loki lowered his gaze, the feeling of being stretched too thin, weighing heavily upon him. It had snapped the taunt wire that had been strung across the two of them for the past few days. He knelt down next to Jor and his tessellation, “Leave.”

He could hear Thor shifting his feet behind him.

“...Please.”

There was a moment of silence then Thor spoke up. “As you wish, brother,” his voice was gentle once more, full of apology. Loki was half afraid he was going to say more, but the sound of the door to his chambers closing shut told him that Thor had done as he asked and left. He closed his eyes and shook his head – that was how Thor had gotten past his wards in the first place; he had not closed his doors.

Opening his eyes once more, he stared at Jor who had curled himself upon the tessellation, having decided that he was not going to do anything untowards his snake form. The coterie...what a fine mess and mistake they were. Jormungandr certainly deserved his punishment, that much was true, but ultimately, it was Thanos pulling the strings, even from the darkness deep within the Tesseract.

Thanos haunted him...

From what he knew, Hel was most likely the one who had freed Fenrir and Jormungandr from their prisons-

He blinked a little as an idea started to form. It was clear now, that he knew he needed allies when Thanos eventually broke free from his prison. The tesseract would banish him for a very long time, but Loki was pragmatically aware that Death was his lover and would consider him under her favor and potentially somehow free him with her power. He hoped to have the geas removed before Thanos ever got free, but it did not hurt to sow the seeds of those who owed him favors.

Picking the tessellation up, he unceremoniously dumped Jor onto the remnants of the table, the snake hissing once in annoyance, attempting to latch onto the tessellation by biting it, but Loki drew it out of his reach. He glared at the snake who hissed grumbles before settling down and buried his face underneath a coil to sleep.

Loki ignored the snake and stood up, activating the inherent magick imbedded within and created a double of himself as he slowly made his own body fade into the shadows of Heimdall's gaze. If all went well, then no one would be wiser until the middle of the feast that he knew the Allfather would be holding later in the evening. The anger and fury that had swept him up earlier burned once again, a smoldering ember that could never be put out – not with everything that had happened.

He still had plenty of tricks left to play.

*** * ***

**Author's Notes:**

Chapter inspired by the prison scene in _Thor: The Dark World_. Instead of having a relatively quiet talk between the two (like in the movie), they decided to lash out at each other, though both are not intentionally angry at each other – they do what siblings do, needle, and hurt each other in their anger at what's happened so far. Note, they are not also necessarily angry at the Allfather – its more complicated than that. One more chapter to go!

Side note: Jormungandr is a corn snake...that sometimes turns into a ball python in my head!canon.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

 

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

 

**Story:**

 

_Chapter 16_

 

The guard straightened at the sight of Thor walking with a determined pace towards the dungeons. “Sire,” he greeted with a curt nod of his head and received an equally curt one in return.

“I wish to speak to the Lady Hel,” Thor said and the guard nodded before allowing him to pass through the wards.

“As you wish sire,” the guard replied before Thor stepped through, familiar red cloak billowing behind him. He resumed his watch, barely even wondering what the Crown Prince of Asgard wanted with the Queen of Helheim and traitor to the House of Odin. Perhaps it was to gloat, as the Crown Prince was apt to do, though in recent memory, seemed to have less of an inclination for it. Nonetheless, it was must have been a great battle on Midgard and the guard hoped to hear it when his shift was finished and he was at the local tavern.

* * *

Loki did not glance back as walked down the steps leading into the dungeons and turned several corners and halls. It was not customary for Thor to look back, to espy if he had been discovered. The fact that the guard had let him through without any problems meant that Thor was allowed down in the dungeons to talk to Hel. He figured if  _he_ had gone down instead in his own skin, the Allfather would have been swiftly notified and he detained or turned away. Suspicion was still cast upon him due to his previous association with the coterie, no matter what reassurances or false pretenses had been assured. He knew that was as much of a falsehood as the truth he had spoken.

Still, if the Court and secretly the Allfather believed him to be associated with the coterie now – he had no doubts now that Jor's punishment was definitely a warning to him – he might as well exploit it.

It was so easy to impersonate Thor; his brother's cultivated image of strength and of glory a boon to those of Asgard. But at the same time Loki could not help but feel the long buried bitterness, the one that spoke to Thor on the mountaintop of Midgard of living in the shadow, in the shade of his glory. Barely anything had changed in the year since he had attacked Midgard, but he would have liked to have thought that he was more fully aware of how  _skewed_ the perspective was, more aware, and thus more inclined to sway the Court.

This latest business with the remnants of the coterie was only a stumble in the path he was planning to carve, but he would recover. At the same time, he knew there was advantages to take, warning or no warning.

He found the cell Hel had been placed into easily enough, following the trail of unique magicks she exuded and stopped, drawing his cloak closer to himself. A discreet searching tendril told him that his illusion in his chambers was holding, even though he did not have time to check his tessellation before using it once more.

“Hello my Prince,” Hel was standing in the bare cell with her dainty hands folded in front of her. In the matter of mere hours, she had looked more half-alive and half-dead than how she had presented herself in the throne room and Loki's lips twitched in a smile. He also noted that she had addressed him by his title instead of how she had always addressed Thor by his title. The fact that she saw right through his illusion, even though he knew it was perfect spoke to how much she had remembered the days of the coterie. But then again, her magicks were always unique and there could have been something in them to make her see past falsehoods and all sorts of things.

Hel had been the most reluctant to talk about her magicks, even when they were all learning from Lady Death. Loki understood why, especially as the eldest of the three, her position was at best, tenuous. At worst, it was anathema. She was also the voice of reason, if her words were to be believed that she had tried to dissuade the others from going through with their initial plan to kill the royal family of Asgard. Loki believed otherwise – that she was as apathetic and indifferent as her mother.

“It was interesting to see what Helblindi's gift was,” he said quietly, masking his conversation with another small illusion spell in case Heimdall was watching. It would seem that Thor would be conversational, gloating, not the conversation he was having at the moment.

“I see you are pleased with it,” Hel had no such powers, trapped in the cell, suppressed of most of her magicks, but then again, Loki could see the mirth hidden behind her glasses, her focuser shining against the light of the cell. “It is a curious gift, though, of weaponry that he would make specifically for you.”

“Your implications fall short,” he shrugged. He knew what Hel was getting at – that Helblindi was currying favor with him, by showering him with gifts like an absent brother that he had never known growing up. He did not care for Helblindi's attempts, but also had the sense that his long-lost Jotun-brother would see the same. It was convenient for him, perhaps as a token of thanks for getting rid of Byliestr and paving his way to the throne.

“And your assumptions are still naïve,” she countered with the barest hint of a smile on her lips. To Loki, it was the equivalent of a boisterous laugh from her. Hel had years, centuries, if not a millenia or several on his age, but he was always able to read her from the beginning. He did not know if she had deliberately allowed it, knowing from the days of the coterie that she was considered emotionless. Her sisters were the only ones to get reactions out of her, but even then, it had been very, very subdued and almost non-existent.

“Why?” he finally asked after a few minutes of silence. It was not a question to what she had said, but rather, the familiar lilt of conversations underneath others.

“Because you do not yet understand,” she replied, tilting her head a little, “or rather, you do understand, but do not _want_ to embrace it. Are you willing to sacrifice what you hold most dear?”

“Not my life,” he replied, frowning. It was not that he knew what Helblindi, even Thor had been trying to show him, it was that he detested it. They did not understand, nor would they ever-

“You never would give it up, yet you claim not to understand,” she smoothed an absent wrinkle from the dress of the howling damned before adjusting her glasses. “It was why they were jealous, why they struck.”

“Jealousy? How unbecoming of them-”

Hel flashed him a full smile and Loki nearly recoiled at the  _teeth_ in them, the predatory look, of how  _death_ would come for him, all neatly packaged into that brief smile. The words he had been saying faltered in wake of the fact that Hel had shown a full emotion, even though it stabbed  _fear_ into him. It was unlike the fear he had when Thanos used, abused, the geas, but rather, this was a fear that he had felt in the waning moments before Death had embraced him, but resolute had determined to fight Thanos in the Tesseract prison.

“I see now why my mother was taken with you,” Hel's face looked solemn, emotionless once more, but her voice was wry, “why she would teach a lost foundling magister.”

Loki frowned. “Pray tell why?” he snarled, a little annoyed at her.

“You would wrought destruction for thousands of lifetimes and yet never give up what you hold most dear. You teeter at the edges, but forge your path with ideals that are naïve and unwanted. Your ideals change, your actions change, but yet you never give up what you hold most dear.”

“Not my life,” he echoed again and she inclined her head once.

“Not your life,” she confirmed, “perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps a mad grab for power, such emotions that make them _human_. You are consumed by the same wants and needs, yet you have risen above it all.”

“Then why am I not king?”

“Because you will never give up what you hold most dear,” she said again, “and it is for that, that is the why. The question you seek, the answer you seek.”

Loki stared at her for a long moment, a puzzling disquiet filling him as he began to realize what she was talking about. It disturbed him, the fact that he was starting to put the pieces together. His life was not what he valued the most and she would not give him the answer to break Thanos' geas upon him if he did not know. But at the same time, he did not want to voice what she was implying – afraid that if it was true, then his whole world would crumble down around him. His life would have been a lie, his actions since the coronation, a lie; everything before that, a lie. It could not be true, because he had tried his damnest, Nornforsaken time to push it away – to deny it.

But Hel always spoke the truth, even in the riddling conversation they always had. She could lie, he had seen that, but she rarely did, preferring to hide the truth in the layers of conversations she had with others.

He wet his lips, finding them suddenly dry and cleared his throat, “...And if I give it up?”

The hint of the smile appeared on her lips once more, “Then I would have been wrong about you, my Prince. It is why I have loved you since you have come to my mother's teachings.”

Loki's lips twitched as he shook his head, “You cannot love.”

Hel tilted her head, “Astute. But is it not the thought that counts?”

“For you, no,” he countered, fully aware that she had sensed his disquiet about what she had said before and was turning the conversation elsewhere. However, he also knew that she would layer it into her words now as she was wont to do.

“Fenrir loved you,” she said and Loki felt a muscle twitch in his fingers. He could still hear the pride in the assassin's voice at how he had been outsmarted, that if he had to die, it was the best death he could have been given. He would have liked to think Fenrir was incapable of love and the two of them had lusted after each other instead, but what did one truly know about love? It was the same with Sigyn, lust or love, it was-

“Fenrir is dead,” he refused to look at her.

“Was it a mercy kill then?”

“It was revenge,” he countered, “stupidity of my own doing for keeping them alive in the first place.”

“What about Jormungandr?”

“What about him?”

“Should he not have died? Should you have slain me as well?”

“Your mother would be annoyed-”

“You slew Angrboda, mortally wounded Sigyn. Mother was not annoyed,” Hel countered and Loki glared at her.

“They were the spares,” he spat out viciously.

“Just like you,” her smile grew a little, but there was no teeth in them and Loki sucked in a quick breath, angry at how easily she had goaded him. “They would have easily gotten rid of the heir, the ruler and installed themselves, yet you hesitate. You have always hesitated.” He knew that she was talking about not only his predicament, but also her own. The Queen of Helheim, there were always those who wanted to rule over the realm of the dead.

“I...” he shook his head before taking a step closer to the golden barrier that separated the two of them. He glared at her, the emotions still raw from his fight with Thor, from all but destroying his chambers, “What do you wish Hel? Do you wish me to give what is most precious to me? Do you wish that? Do you wish me to apologize for killing your sisters? For destroying the coterie? Do you wish for me to kneel before you and swear fealty?! For a geas contract to be negotiated for your escape?!”

Hel only stared at him, the smile on her face dropping as she resumed her expressionless look, “My wishes are inconsequential, my Prince.”

“Nothing you offer is without consequence,” he snapped back.

“Then I offer a warning,” she took a step forward until they were nearly nose-to-nose, the crackling golden barrier the only thing separating them, “to give up what is most precious will save you, but it will also doom you.”

He swallowed thickly, trying to tamp down on the surge of emotions that he felt with that statement. Contrary to the wordplay they had always engaged in, he knew that her words held weight, consequences, and warnings that one did not needlessly ignore. Those that did always suffered the most brutal of consequences. And judging by what she had been implying the whole time, he felt the myriad of emotions swirling within him.

He forced himself to breathe evenly, as he held up a hand against the barrier, his palm tingling with the flow of magicks. “Then I offer a gift for the gift given,” he weaved the subtle magicks within the barrier, binding them to the ancient magicks that powered the forcefield separating the two of them. “I also offer a warning to the warning given,” he continued as he lowered his hand, his initial intent finished, “Heed Odin's commands, and you will have his protection.”

He stepped back and saw her nod once, understanding the meaning behind his words. “After all this time, you still show sentiment?” she asked.

“Practicality,” he replied before turning away and forcing himself to walk back up to the dungeon's entrance. It was a risk to trust her to put the magick to good use, but at the same time, he knew that she would not compromise what had happened – not after everything.

Leaving the dungeons, he drew his cloak closer to him, masking the illusion of Thor's visage with a grim look before slowly melting into the shadows and returning to his room. There was a feast to prepare for.

* * *

Despite what had happened only hours ago after Jormungandr and Hel's sentencing, Thor could not help but feel a sense of  _pride_ as he sat near the head of the feasting table. Every single one of his friends, including the Lady Pepper and Jane had discarded the garbs of Asgard and had worn the clothing of Midgardians. He knew it was in protest of what they had deemed to be beyond the realm of punishment for Jormungandr and for Hel. But he also knew that his friends were trying to show their strength, that they were warriors of their own and while willing to trade and negotiate with Asgard, they should not be considered the backwater realm others had long thought them to be.

He had shown his support, by dressing in a more casual version of his armor to the feast. Normally, he would have had time to change into the leathers that denoted the end of a battle and peace once more. The whispers of those at the feast seemed to indicate that they approved for the most part, but he also knew that there were those in the Court who still had their reservations.

Still, even with the pride, he could tell that his friends were still feeling ill at ease with what had happened. Dr. Banner was the most apparent, picking at his food while sitting in between Tony Stark and Captain Rogers. The latter of the two was describing to several down the table a tale that made his face animated, but Thor saw the slight pinched way he was talking – as if he was used to hiding his emotions behind a facade. It was eerily similar to the expression Loki wore from time to time, and Thor turned his gaze elsewhere.

Captain Rogers was also adding bits to the story, but his expression was a little more overt, Thor knowing from experience that the Captain was incapable of lying or even shading the truth. Director Fury sat next to Rogers, fielding questions from some of the dignitaries from other realms that had come to witness Midgard's treatise. The Lady Pepper sat across from Stark was helping the Director answer questions though she looked like she had practice masking her true emotions. He supposed it was because she was the leader of Stark's company. The SHIELD Agents Barton, Coulson, and Lady Romanoff all sat next to each other, mostly quiet though occasionally helping Stark with his tale.

“...the scientific concepts are rudimentary, does that mean you're saying we're not capable of figuring out how an Einstein-Rosen bridge works?” he turned his attention to Jane who sat to his right as she argued with Loki who sat directly across from him. The Allfather and Alllmother were to his left respectively, sitting at the head of the feasting table.

“Oh, your kind may be capable of such basics,” Loki replied, his expression was calm and collected. There was no sign, not even a single hint of the shouting match they had with each other a couple of hours earlier and Thor grimaced a little. It was not that he wanted to apologize, but that he could feel Loki closing off again, guarding himself against anything and everything that may hurt him. The promise that he would be there for him was slowly crumbling and Thor knew that there was nothing he could do to dissuade that, not after the hurt they had both inflicted upon one another.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Jane looked annoyed and Thor knew that there would have been a time when he would have asked Loki to stop needling her, or had interfered in some fashion.

But now he realized that she too was trying, in her own way, to tamp down on the barely-held-there anger that lingered in wake of what had happened. He was not blind to how tense she was, this close to the Allfather, and knew that she was blaming Odin for what had happened. It was all he could do to question the punishment of stripping Jormungandr of his magicks, to demand an explanation. The fact that Loki had  _felt_ it, if his tessellation comment really was true – and he had no doubts because he had seen what it had been used for twice – had made him all the more aware of the barbarism of such a punishment. His brother had suffered as Jormungandr had suffered, was that not enough? Loki had not released the coterie, he was sure now, had  _nothing_ to do with their actions and yet, the Allfather had sought punishment, had forced him to watch.

“...capabilities are far from the understanding of such magicks,” Thor heard his brother say as Jane looked skeptical at his answer before opening her mouth again to counter what he said.

But the next words that came out was not a counter as her gaze suddenly shot to the table, “Is...that...a  _snake?_ ”

Thor looked to where she was staring at and saw that it was a snake with Jormungandr's pattern- no, it  _was_ Jormungandr who was slithering amongst the plates before settling next to a piece of dropped food and swallowed it whole as if it was nothing.

“Brother...” he looked up at Loki who seemed oblivious to the fact that Jormungandr was curling himself next to the mug of mead and saw that his brother's eyes were chipped with dark mirth. He shot a quick glance at the Allfather and saw that he was not staring at the table, but listening to the tale that was being told by Stark further down. However, the Allmother was shaking her head a little, having seen what he had seen.

“Loki...why?” their mother whispered.

“Whatever do you mean?” the sheer amount of innocence in Loki's tone did not fool Thor as he stared at his brother who returned his gaze with a half-churlish smile that belied the hidden anger in his eyes. He heard Jane sigh before rubbing her eyes and unceremoniously stabbing a piece of food and eating it. The fact that she seemed to accept whatever was happening with ease did not make him feel at-ease.

Frigga looked like she was about to say something before a guard hurried in, making Stark falter in his story, before being waved by the Allfather to continue as the guard stopped by his side. He glanced at Stark to see him continue talking, but more than one occasion, look back at the head of the table. Many of the others also were looking this way, but it was Sif and the others who tried to bring their attention back to the tale by asking pointed questions.

It was common for the Allfather to be interrupted during feasts at times, but this one in particular seemed to carry more weight and Thor had no doubts as to the fact that it was due to the treatise with the Midgardians. He could not hear what the guard was saying, even though he was next to him, but saw the Allfather nod several times before standing up, acknowledging everyone with the barest inclination of his head before he left.

“Tell us about the great battle with the fiendish serpent Jormungandr!” one of the courtiers shouted down the table and for a moment Stark faltered, glancing down the table at him, before Faendral jumped in, elbowing Hogun and generally making a ruckus regarding the battle. Normally Thor would have recounted the tale, since it was he, Hogun, and Agent Barton who had fought Jormungandr before he surrendered to them, but at the moment, he was glad for his friend's interference.

He heard the courtiers laugh at something Faendral said, Hogun grinning a little and saw Sif smiling, shooting him a concerned look to which he smiled back at to reassure her. Her silent unspoken question along with the raising of an eyebrow told him that she was not convinced, but would leave the matter tabled for now.

“You should not have brought Jormungandr here, brother,” he muttered quietly, turning his attention back to Loki who was eating silently.

“Should not a living familiar be fed?” his brother countered and Thor could hear the anger still in his tone.

“Loki-”

Frigga did not finish whatever she was about to say as they were interrupted once more with the flap of wings and Thor looked up to see  _both_ Huugin and Muugin flying towards them, Huugin landing on his shoulder while Muugin perched on Loki's. He met his brother's gaze, wondering why they were being summoned and if  _he_ had anything to do with it – but Loki's eyes showed nothing, just a guileless question, maybe even a hint of concern. He did not believe it for one second, but humored Loki and stood up, his chair scraping a little across the marbled floor.

“Pardon my absence, Allmother,” he said politely as the feasting table fell silent at his sudden movement.

“As well as mine,” Loki had gotten up too, his expression giving no hint as to how he was feeling. For all everyone knew, he was only being as polite as possible, but Thor could see that his friends were all staring at Loki, gauging him, wondering what was happening. The possibility that something _did_ happen that was beyond what had happened today occurred to Thor, but he pushed that thought out of his mind. Odin did not needlessly summon his sons, especially from a feast this important.

“You have my pardon,” Frigga looked worried, but masked it with a serene smile before reaching over and plucked Jormungandr from where he had been attempting to eat more food that had fallen off of Loki's plate. “I shall keep our unexpected guest entertained.”

“Mother,” there was the flash of a mirthless smile that was instantly gone from his brother's face as he turned and walked out of the hall. Thor followed, deliberately leaving Mjolnir on his seat for everyone to see. He felt Huugin shift on his shoulder and out of the corner of his eye, saw the raven staring back at where Frigga was holding Jormungandr. He only belatedly realized that the raven actually wanted to _eat_ Jormungandr and shook his head.

“That is a person in there,” he muttered to the raven who only cawed and cackled a bit, as if he was laughing.

There was a caw from Muugin perched on Loki's shoulder, that sounded like a harsh reprimand in Thor's opinion as he followed his brother out of the hall. A squawk nearly blasted Thor's ear and to him, Huugin sounded annoyed before flapping his wings and flew from his shoulder to where the Allfather's hand was outstretched. The two ravens landed, Huugin digging his beak into Muugin's wing in harsh affection as if apologizing.

He shook his head inwardly, the ravens were a mystery to him, but that was not his concern as he noted Heimdall standing near the Allfather, his golden eyes seemingly boring into him.

“Heimdall,” he greeted politely as he and Loki stopped in front of the two of them.

“Prince Thor,” the gatekeeper returned with equal politeness before inclining his head in acknowledgment to Loki's presence.

“Hel has escaped the prisons,” the Allfather started without preamble and Thor immediately repressed the urge to flick a look at Loki. It had to be his brother who had freed Hel, he knew it. There would have been a time when he would have looked at Loki and condemn him for freeing a prisoner, but Thor held back. There was no proof other than what the Allfather said. Loki may not have been involved – even though his instinct told him that his brother had a hand in the escape.

“She is back in her realm, under a watchful gaze,” the Allfather continued, his tone mild, searching.

“And this is of a concern...?” Loki spoke up, bringing the Allfather and Heimdall's gaze upon him before the barest hint of a smile appeared on his lips.

“It is not,” the Allfather said, “she is following the punishment given.”

“Then the punishment is satisfactory,” Thor blurted out, confused at what the Allfather was doing.

“It is,” the Allfather looked at him and so deep was his gaze that Thor thought he could see straight through him. “Thor, did you per chance, visit Lady Hel in the dungeons after her sentencing?”

In that very moment, Thor knew what had happened. He did not have to look at Loki who, for all intents and purposes, looked so calm and collected, to see the deeply hidden anger, the rage, the  _pride_ , the stubbornness, everything he knew about his brother – and know that Loki was the one who had freed Hel. After everything, after denying up and down the Norns that he had  _nothing_ to do with the coterie, with their escape, he had freed Hel.

And he understood why.

And in that understanding, he realized that this was an opportunity for him – to ensure that his brother knew that they would stand together in face of whatever came for him; that he was not alone in his fight against Thanos, against the enemies that would wish him harm.

“Yes, I did,” he replied steadily, keeping a firm grasp on his emotions and smiled inwardly at the slight start of surprise from Loki. _Yes brother, I can lie as well as you_. _I would lie to protect you_.

“Then there is nothing more to say,” the Allfather seemed satisfied with his answer, “you may return to the feast.”

Thor nodded once before heading back in. It was not the end, but it was definitely a start.

* * *

Loki inclined his head at the Allfather's command and turned to follow Thor, but only took a few steps before Odin called his name softly.

“Loki.”

“Yes?” he turned his head back to see the Allfather staring at him with an unreadable look.

“This is a dangerous game you play, my son,” Odin said softly.

Loki only let the barest hint of a smile appear on his lips, “But it is the only way to play.”

He turned back around and saw Thor waiting a few paces ahead. The fact that his brother had lied,  _for him_ , had startled him, but at the same time he understood the gesture and took the olive branch for what it was. Thor fell in step  _beside_ him as the two of them headed back into the feast. There was once a time he would have followed  _behind_ him, but now they walked beside each other – the Trickster God and the Thunder God.

 

~END~

 

**Author's Final Notes – 4/28/14:**

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, kudos, alerted this fic – I love you all! You make me a very happy author. So ends the second story of the Trickster Universe. **If you have not already, please move all bookmarks/alerts to** _ **Frozen in Time**_ **which is chronologically the next story in this series.** It is Avengers-centric, with no Loki in it, but the plot is very relevant to setting up the next story afterwards: tentatively titled _The Trickster: Ragnarok_. A prequel to the coterie will be written – please keep an eye out for it (more than likely to be written after I finish _Frozen in Time_ ).

I would like to thank the following reviewers: Enchantress10, Double-Gemini, Shroud of Twilight, SailingFXGold, Ara Goddess of the Broken, Raychaell Dionzeros, Feedom2READ, RollingUpHigh, angelofxmine, virginger, (Guest reviewer who has no log in that can't reply to, but you're awesome), Austin and Ally Go 1 Direction, Rabytte, GuessWho, TilAllAreOne, rawr_balrog, and tisifone21.

A big thank you to my beta reader Legume Shadow (who also fuels the cute twisted head!canon about snake!Jormungandr).

I would also like to thank those who have just discovered this story or have just finished reading it. Loki's journey is far from done and I hope to see you in my next story!

 


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